■4::f^^:: 


I 


MEMOIRS 


PRIVATE  d.YD  PUBLIC  LIFE 


WILLIAM  PENN. 


OF     THE  —         — ,  , 

PRIVATE  AND  PUBLIC  LIFE 

OF 

WILLIAM  PENN. 


WWW'VWVWWX' 

BY  THOMAS  CLARKSON,  M.  A. 

wvvwvwvwvw 

iN  TWO  VOLUMES. 

VOL.  n. 

W*  VVVVVVVVVXA/VVVVX-W 


PHILADELPHIA, 

Published  by  Bradford  and  Inskeep,  No.  4,  South  Third-street  \ 
Kimber  and  Conrad,  No  93,  Market-street ;  and 
Edward  Parker,  \7^y  Market-street.        ^ 
G.  Palmer,  printer. 

1814. 


Vo 


.\  \ 


MEMOIRS 

OF 

THE  LIFE 

OF 

WILLIAM  PENN. 


CHAPTER  I. 

A.  16B8^-^introduces  Gilbert  Latey  to  the  King"^ 
becomes  very  unpopular^— reputed  causes  of  it-^ 
beautiful  letter  written  to  him  by  Mr.  Popple  on 
this  account-^his  answer  to  the  same — is  arrested 
(^King-  William  having  tome  to  the  throne)  and 
brought  before  the  Lords  of  Council-^and  exam^ 
ined'-^and  made  to  give  bail  for  his  appearance-^ 
affairs  of  Pennsylvania. 

^^ILLIAM  Penn  staid  in  England  only  for  the 
purpose  of  seeing  religious  liberty  established  by  a 
law  of  the  land.  Of  course  he  was  a  frequent  atten- 
dant at  Whitehall.  Going  there  one  day  in  compa- 
ny with  George  Whitehead,  they  met  Gilbert  Latey, 
an  experienced  minister  of  the  Society.  They  ask- 
ed him,  if  he  would  go  with  them  and  wait  upon 
the  King.  "  Gilbert  paused  for  awhile,  and  as  he 
thus  stood  silent,  it  opened  in  his  heart  what  he 
VOL.  II.     '  B 


2  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

should  say  to  the  King;  whereupon  he  told  the 
Friends  he  was  ready  to  go  with  them ;  and  accord- 
ingly they  went,  and  had  admittance  into  the  King's 
presence,  there  being  only  one  other  person  present 
besides  the  King  and  his  Friends.  George  White- 
head and  William  Penn  having  spoken  what  they 
had  to  say,  the  King  was  pleased  to  ask  Gilbert, 
whether  he  had  not  something  to  say  ;  upon  which 
he  in  a  great  deal  of  humility  spake  in  the  manner 
following:  ^  The  mercy,- favour,  and  kindness, 
which  the  King  hath  extended  to  us  as  a  people  in 
the  time  of  our  exercise  and  sore  distress,  we  hum- 
bly acknowledge ;  and  I  truly  desire  that  God  may 
show  him  mercy  and  favour  in  the  time  of  his 
trouble  and  sore  distress.'*  To  which  the  King  re- 
plied, I  thank  you;  and  so  at  that  time  they  parted. 
But  what  was  then  spoken  by  Gilbert  lived  with  the 
King;  who,  some  time  after,  when  he  was  in  Ire- 
land, desired  a  Friend  to  remember  him  to  Gilbert. 
Tell  him,  said  the  King,  the  w^ords  he  spake  to  me 
I  shall  never  forget,  adding  that  one  part  of  them 
had  come  true  [the  Revolution  and  sore  distress 
thereby)^  and  that  he  prayed  to  God  that  the  other 
might  come  to  pass.  Upon  this  Gilbert  caused  it 
to  be  signified  to  him,  that  the  second  part  of  what 
he  had  said  was  also  in  a  great  measure  come  to  pass, 
for  that  the  Lord  had  given  him  his  life"  {alluding 
to  the  battle  of  the  Boyne^.  I  mention  this  as  a 
curious  anecdote  of  the  constitution  of  the  King's 
mind,  he  having  viewed  the  words  spoken  by  Gil- 
bert Latey  in  a  prophetic  light. 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  3 

In  the  month  of  April  the  King  renewed  his  De- 
claration for  liberty  of  conscience,  with  this  addi- 
tion, that  he  would  adhere  firmly  to  it,  and  that  he 
would  put  none  into  public  employments  but  such 
as  would  concur  with  him  in  maintaining  it.  He 
also  promised  that  he  would  hold  a  Parliament  in 
the  November  following.  This  was  what  William 
Penn  desired.  He  wished  the  King  to  continue 
firm  to  his  purpose ;  but  he  knew  that  neither  tests 
nor  penalties  could  be  legally  removed  without  the 
consent  of  Parliament.  He  rejoiced  therefore  that 
the  Parliament  were  to  be  consulted  on  the  measure; 
for  he  indulged  a  hope,  that  the  substance  of  the 
Royal  Declaration  would  be  confirmed  by  both 
Houses,  and  thus  pass  into  a  law  of  the  land. 

At  the  time  when  this  Declaration  was  renewed, 
an  Order  of  Council  came  out,  that  it  should  be  read 
in  the  churches  within  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction 
of  the  kingdom.  Bancroft  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  six  other  Bishops,  namely,  St.  Asaph, 
Ely,  Bath  and  Wells,  Peterborough,  Chichester,  and 
Bristol,  presented  a  petition  to  the  King  in  behalf 
of  themselves  and  several  other  Bishops,  and  a 
great  body  of  the  Clergy ;  in  which  they  laid  before 
him  the  reasons  why  they  had  opposed  the  reading 
of  the  Declaration  in  the  churches,  as  the  Order  in 
Council  had  prescribed.  They  intended,  they  said, 
no  disrespect  to  His  Majesty,  nor  did  they  breathe 
any  spirit  of  hostility  towards  the  Dissenters ;  but 
the  Declaration  being  founded  on  a  dispensing 
power,  which  had  been  declared  illegal  no  less  than 


4  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

three  times  in  eight  years,  they  could  not  become 
parties  to  it  by  giving  it  the  extraordinary  publicity 
required.  The  King  having  heard  the  petition,  of 
which  this  was  the  substance,  took  time  to  deliberate 
upon  it ;  after  which  the  seven  Bishops  were  sent  to 
the  Tower.  In  process  of  time  they  were  brought 
to  trial,  and  they  were  acquitted  among  the  plaudits 
of  the  nation. 

After  this  event  William  Penn  became  more  un- 
popular than  ever.  It  had  transpired,  probably  by 
means  of  Burnet,  that  he  had  been  employed  by  the 
King  on  the  embassy  to  the  Hague  to  obtain  the 
Prince  of  Grangers  consent,  not  only  to  a  I'olera- 
tion,  but  to  the  removal  of  Tests.  It  had  been  sus- 
pected that  he  was  the  mover  of  the  Royal  Procla- 
mation in  1686,  and  of  the  Declaration  in  1687.  It 
had  become  known,  though  he  had  concealed  his 
name,  that  he  was  the  author  of  "  Good  Advice  to 
the  Church  of  England,  and  Roman  Catholics  and 
Protestant  Dissenters."  It  was  therefore  now  taken 
for  granted,  that  he  had  a  hand  in  the  imprison- 
ment of  the  Bishops,  though  he  had  never  any  con- 
cern, on  any  occasion,  in  the  recommendation  of 
force.  The  consequence  was,  that  he  became  very 
odious  to  the  Church.  The  Dissenters  too,  whose 
very  cause  he  had  been  pleading,  turned  against 
him.  Considering  his  intimacy  with  James  the 
Second,  they  judged  him  to  be  a  creature  of  the 
same  stamp,  and  to  have  the  like  projects  and  pur- 
suits. Now  it  happened  that  the  King  had  made 
this  year  a  more  open  acknowledgment  of  Popery 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  5 

than  ever.  He  had  permitted  the  Jesuits  to  erect  a 
College  in  the  Savoy  in  London,  and  suffered  the 
Friars  to  go  publicly  in  the  dress  of  their  monas- 
ticai  orders  ;  which  was  a  strange  sight  to  Protest- 
ants. He  had  permitted  also  the  Pope's  Nuncio 
D'Ada  to  make  his  public  entry  into  Windsor  in 
great  state.  He  was  therefore  most  openly  a 
Catholic.  Hence  they  considered  William  Penn 
to  be  of  the  same  religious  persuasion.  But  they 
carried  the  matter  still  further;  for,  believing  that 
the  King>  when  he  wished  to  establish  a  Toleration 
and  to  abolish  Tests,  had  no  other  motive  than  that 
of  protecting  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  and  thus 
giving  it  an  opportunity  to  flourish,  they  attached  to 
William  Penn  the  same  motive  in  his  furtherance 
and  defence  of  the  measure.  From  this  time  the 
names  of  Papist  and  Jesuit  were  revived  with 
double  fury.  It  was  added,  that  he  was  disafl'ccteci 
to  the  free  part  of  the  Constitution,  and  a  friend  to 
arbitrary  power.  The  clamour,  indeed,  was  ^o 
great  against  him,  being  spread  both  by  Dissenters, 
and  the  Church,  that  several,  who  had  not  the 
courage  to  go  against  the  spirit  of  the  times,  avoid- 
ed his  acquaintance.  Others,  who  were  of  a  firmer 
texture,  and  who  valued  him  from  what  ihey  knew 
of  his  worth  and  character,  did  not  follow  the 
stream  ;  but,  either  to  exculpate  themselves  for  not 
doing  so,  or  to  try  if  possible  to  recover  his  expiring 
reputation,  required  of  him,  as  Dr.  Tillotson  had 
done  before,  a  voucher  from  his  own  hand,  that 
there  was  no  ground  for  those  epithets  which  the- 
B2 


b  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

public  had  fixed  upon  him.  Among  these  was  Mr. 
Popple^,  who  was  the  intimate  friend  both  of  him 
and  of  John  Locke.  His  letter  to  this  purpose  was 
friendly,  modest,  and  respectful,  yet  firm  and  manly. 
It  discovered  great  good  sense,  and  a  liberal  and 
highly  cultivated  mind.  As  a  composition  it  was 
masterly,  with  respect  to  words,  sentences,  and 
arguments,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  copy 
of  its  contents. 

''  To  the  Honourable  William  Penn,  Esq.  Pro-* 
prietor  and  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 
^'  Honoured  Sir, 
*-^  Though  the  friendship  with  which  you  are 
pleased  to  honour  me  doth  afford  me  sufficient  op- 
portunities of  discoursing  with  you  upon  any  sub- 
ject, yet  I  choose  rather  at  this  time  to  offer  unto 
you  in  writing  some  reflections  which  have  occurred 
to  my  thoughts  in  a  matter  of  no  common  import- 
ance. The  importance  of  it  doth  primarily  and 
directly  respect  yourself,  and  your  own  private  con- 
cernments ;  but  it  also  consequently  and  effectually 
regards  the  King,  his  Government,  and  even  the 
peace  and  settlement  of  this  whole  Nation.  I  en- 
treat you  therefore  to  bear  with  me,  if  I  endeavour 
in  this  manner  to  give  somewhat  more  weight  unto 
my  words  than  would  be  in  a  transient  discourse, 
and  leave  them  with  you  as  a  subject  that  requires 
your  retired  consideration. 

*  This  gentleman  was  Secretary  to  the  Lords  Commissioners 
for  the  Affairs  of  Trade  and  Plantations. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  7 

''  You  are  not  ignorant  that  the  part  you  have 
been  supposed  to  have  had  of  late  years  In  public 
affairs,  though  without  either  the  title,  or  honour, 
or  profit,  of  any  public  office,  and  that  especially 
your  avowed  endeavours  to  introduce  among  us  a 
general  and  inviolable  liberty  of  conscience  in 
matters  of  mere  religion,  have  occasioned  the  mis- 
takes of  some  men,  provoked  the  malice  of  others, 
and  in  the  end  have  raised  against  you  a  multitude 
of  enemies,  who  have  unworthily  defamed  you  with 
such  imputations  as  I  am  sure  you  abhor.  This  I 
know  you  have  been  sufficiently  informed  of,  though 
I  doubt  you  have  not  made  sufficient  reflection  upon 
it.  The  consciousness  of  your  own  innocence 
seems  to  me  to  have  given  you  too  great  a  contempt 
of  such  unjust  and  ill-grounded  slanders;  for,  how- 
ever glorious  it  is  and  reasonable  for  a  truly  vir- 
tuous mind,  whose  inward  peace  is  founded  upon 
that  rock  of  innocence,  to  despise  the  empty  noise 
of  popular  reproach,  yet  even  that  sublimity  of 
spirit  may  sometimes  swell  to  a  reprovable  excess. 
To  be  steady  and  immoveable  in  the  prosecution  of 
wise  and  honest  resolutions,  by  all  honest  and  pru- 
dent means,  is  indeed  a  duty  that  admits  of  no  ex- 
ception: but  nevertheless  it  ought  not  to  hinder 
that,  at  the  same  time,  there  be  also  a  due  care 
taken  of  preserving  a  fair  reputation.  '  A  good 
name,'  says  the  Wise  Man,  '  is  better  th;^m  pre- 
cious ointment.'  It  is  a  perfume  that  recommends 
the  person  whom  it  accompanies,  that  procures  him 
every  where  an  easy  acceptance,  and  that  facilitates 


8  M^EMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

the  success  of  all  his  enterprizes :  and  for  that  rea- 
son, though  there  were  no  other,  I  entreat  you,  ob- 
serve, that  the  care  of  a  man's  reputation  is  an 
essential  part  of  that  very  same  duty  that  engages 
him  in  the  pursuit  of  any  worthy  design. 

"  But  I  must  not  entertain  you  with  a  declama- 
tion upon  this  general  theme.  My  business  is  to 
represent  to  you  more  particularly  those  very  impu- 
tations which  are  cast  upon  yourself,  together  with 
some  of  their  evident  consequences  ;  that,  if  possi- 
ble, I  may  thereby  move  you  to  labour  after  a  re- 
medy. The  source  of  all  arises  from  the  ordinary 
access  you  have  unto  the  King,  the  credit  you  are 
supposed  to  have  with  him,  and  the  deep  jealousy 
that  some  people  have  conceived  of  his  intentions  in 
reference  to  religion.  Their  jealousy  is,  that  his  aim 
has  been  to  settle  Popery  in  this  nation,  not  only  in 
a  fair  and  secure  liberty,  but  even  in  a  predomi- 
nating superiority  over  all  other  professions :  and 
from  hence  the  inference  follows,  that  whosoever 
has  any  part  in  the  councils  of  this  reign  must  needs 
be  popishly  affected ;  but  that  to  have  so  great  a 
part  in  them  as  you  are  said  to  have  had,  can  happen 
to  none  but  an  absolute  Papist.  That  is  the  direct 
charge  :  but  that  is  not  enough  ;  your  post  is  too 
considerable  for  a  Papist  of  an  ordinary  form,  and 
therefore  you  must  be  a  Jesuit :  nay,  to  confirm 
that  suggestion,  it  must  be  accompanied  with  all  the 
circumstances  that  may  best  give  it  an  air  of  proba- 
bilitv ;  as,  that  you  have  been  bred  at  St.  Omer's  in 
the  Jesuits'  college  ;  that  you  have  taken  orders  at 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  9 

Rome,  and  there  obtained  a  dispensation  to  marry  ; 
and  that  you  have  since  then  frequently  officiated  as 
a  Priest  in  the  celebration  of  the  Mass  at  White- 
hall, St.  James's,  and  other  places.  And  this  being 
admitted,  nothing  can  be  too  black  to  be  cast  upon 
you.  Whatsoever  is  thought  amiss  either  in  Church 
or  State,  though  never  so  contrary  to  your  advice, 
is  boldly  attributed  to  it ;  and,  if  other  proofs  fail, 
the  Scripture  itself  must  be  brought  in  to  confirm, 
'  That  whosoever  offends  in  one  point  (in  a  point 
especially  so  essential  as  that  of  our  too  much  af- 
fected uniformity)  is  guilty  of  the  breach  of  all  our 
laws.'  Thus  the  charge  of  Popery  draws  after  it  a 
tail  like  the  et  ccetera  oath,  and  by  endless  iniinendos 
prejudicates  you  as  guilty  of  whatsoever  mctiice  can 
invent,  or  folly  believe.  But  that  charge,  therefore, 
being  removed,  the  inferences  that  are  drawn  from 
it  will  vanish,  and  your  reputation  will  easily  return 
to  its  former  brightness. 

"  Now,  that  I  might  the  more  effectually  per- 
suade  you  to  apply  some  remedy  to  this  disease,  I 
beseech  you.  Sir,  suffer  me  to  lay  before  you  some 
of  its  pernicious  consequences.  It  is  not  a  trifling 
matter  for  a  person,  raised  as  you  are  above  the 
common  level,  to  lie  under  the  prejudice  of  so  gene- 
ral a  mistake  in  so  important  a  matter.  The  gene- 
ral and  long  prevalency  of  any  opinion  gives  it  a 
strength,  especially  among  the  vulgar,  that  is  not 
easily  shaken.  And  as  it  happens  that  you  have  also 
enemies  of  a  higher  rank,  who  will  be  ready  to  im« 
prove  such  popular  mistakes  by  all  sorts  of  malici" 


10  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

ous  artifices,  it  must  be  taken'for  granted  that  those 
errors  will  be  thereby  still  more  confirmed,  and  the 
inconveniences  that  may  arise  from  thence  no  less 
increased.  This,  Sir,  I  assure  you,  is  a  melancholy 
prospect  to  your  friends  ;  for  we  know  you  have 
such  enemies.  The  design  of  so  universal  a  liberty 
of  conscience,  as  your  principles  have  led  you  to 
promote,  has  offended  many  of  those  whose  interest 
it  is  to  cross  it.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  many  and 
how  powerful  they  are ;  nor  can  I  tell  you  either 
how  far,  or  by  what  ways  L-.nd  means,  they  may  en- 
deavour to  execute  their  revenge.  But  this,  how- 
ever, I  must  needs  tell  you  ;  that,  in  your  present 
circumstances,  there  is  sufficient  ground  for  so 
much  jealousy  at  least  as  ought  to  excite  you  to  use 
the  precaution  of  some  public  vindication.  This 
the  tenderness  of  friendship  prompts  your  friends 
to  desire  of  you  ;  and  this  the  just  sense  of  your 
honour,  which  true  religion  does  not  extinguish,  re- 
quires vou  to  execute. 

^'  Pardon,  I  entreat  you.  Sir,  the  earnestness  of 
these  expressions  ;  nay,  suflfer  me,  without  offence, 
to  expostulate  with  you  yet  a  little  further.  I  am 
fearful  lest  these  personal  considerations  should  not 
have  their  due  weight  with  you,  and  therefore  I 
cannot  omit  to  reflect  also  upon  some  more  general 
consequences  of  your  particular  reproach.  I  have 
said  it  already,  that  the  King,  his  honour,  his  go- 
vernment, and  even  the  peace  and  settlement  of  this 
whole  nation,  either  are  or  have  been  concerned  in 
this  matter :  your  reputation,  as  you  are  s^d  to  have 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  11 

meddled  in  public  affairs,  has  been  of  public  con- 
cernment. The  promoting  a  general  liberty  of  con- 
science having  been  your  particular  province,  the 
aspersion  of  Popery  and  Jesuitism,  that  has  been 
cast  upon  you,  has  reflected  upon  His  Majesty  for 
having  made  use,  in  that  affair,  of  so  disguised  a 
personage  as  you  are  supposed  to  have  been.  It  has 
weakened  the  force  of  your  endeavours,  obstructed 
their  effect,  and  contributed  greatly  to  disappoint 
this  poor  nation  of  that  inestimable  happiness,  and 
secure  establishment,  which  I  am  persuaded  you 
designed,  and  which  all  good  and  wise  men  agree 
that  a  just  and  inviolable  liberty  of  conscience  would 
infallibly  produce.  I  heartily  wish  this  considera- 
tion had  been  sooner  laid  to  heart,  and  that  some 
demonstrative  evidence  of  your  sincerity  in  the  pro- 
fession you  make  had  accompanied  all  your  endea- 
vours for  liberty. 

"  But  what  do  I  say,  or  what  do  I  wish  for  ?  I 
confess  that  I  am  now  struck  with  astonishment  at 
that  abundant  evidence  which  I  know  you  have  con- 
stantly given  of  the  opposition  of  your  principles  to 
those  of  the  Romish  church,  and  at  the  little  regard 
there  has  been  had  to  it.  If  an  open  profession  of 
the  directest  opposition  against  Popery,  that  has 
every  appeared  in  the  world  since  Popery  was  first 
distinguished  from  common  Christianity,  would 
'  serve  the  turn,  this  cannot  be  denied  to  all  those  of 
that  Society  with  which  you  are  joined  in  the  duties 
of  religious  worship.  If  to  have  maintained  the 
principles  of  that  Society  by  frequent  and  fervent 


12  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

discourses,  by  many  elaborate  writings,  by  suffering 
ignominy,  imprisonment,  and  other  manifold  disad*- 
vantages,  in  defence  thereof,  can  be  admitted  as  any 
proof  of  your  sincere  adherence  thereunto  ;  this,  it 
is  evident  to  the  world,  you  have  done  already. 
Nay,  further ;  if  to  have  inquired,  as  far  as  was  pos- 
sible for  you,  into  the  particular  stories  that  have 
been  framed  against  you,  and  to  have  sought  all 
means  of  rectifying  the  mistakes  upon  which  they 
were  grounded,  could  in  any  measure  avail  to  the 
setting  a  true  character  of  you  in  men's  judgments, 
this  also  I  know  you  have  done.  For  I  have  seen, 
under  the  hand  of  a  Reverend  Dean  of  our  English 
church  (Dr.  Tillotson),  a  full  acknowledgment  of 
satisfaction  received  from  you  in  a  suspicion  he  had 
entertained  upon  one  of  those  stories,  and  to  which 
his  report  had  procured  too  much  credit.  And 
though  I  know  you  are  averse  to  the  publishing  of 
his  letter  without  his  express  leave,  and  perhaps 
may  not  now  think  fit  to  ask  it ;  yet  I  am  so  tho- 
roughly assured  of  his  sincerity  and  candour,  that  I 
cannot  doubt  but  he  has  already  vindicated  you  in 
that  matter,  and  will  (according  to  his  promise)  be 
still  ready  to  do  it  upon  all  occasions.  Nay,  I  have 
seen  also  your  justification  from  another  calumny  of 
common  fame,  about  your  having  kidnapped  one, 
who  had  been  formerly  a  monk,  out  of  your  Ameri- 
can province,  to  deliver  him  here  into  the  hands  of 
his  enemies  ;  I  say,  I  have  seen  your  justification 
from  that  story  under  that  person's  own  hand  ;  and 
his  return  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  now  resides, 


OP    WILLIAM    PENN.  13 

xnav  be  an  irrefragable  confutation  of  it  to  any  that 
will  take  the  pains  to  inquire  thereinto. 

"  Really  it  afflicts  me  very  much  to  consider  that 
all  this  does  not  suffice.  If  I  had  not  that  particular 
respect  for  you  which  I  sincerely  profess,  yet  I 
could  not  but  be  much  affected,  than  any  man,  who 
had  deserved!}'  acquired  so  fair  a  reputation  as  you 
have  formerly  had,  whose  integrity  and  veracity 
had  always  been  reputed  spotless,  and  whose  charity 
had  been  continually  exercised  in  serving  others,  at 
the  dear  expense  of  his  time,  his  strength,  and  his 
estate,  w-ithout  any  other  recompence  than  what  re- 
sults from  the  consciousness  of  doing  good :  I  say, 
I  could  not  but  be  much  affected,  to  see  any  such 
person  fall  innocently  and  undeservedly  under  such 
unjust  reproaches  as  you  have  done.  It  is  a  hard 
case  ;  and  I  think  no  man  that  has  any  bowels  of 
humanity  can  reflect  upon  it  without  great  relent- 
ings. 

"  Since  therefore  it  is  so,  and  that  something  re- 
mains yet  to  be  done — something  more  express,  and 
especially  more  public,  than  has  yet  been  done — for 
your  vindication ;  I  beg  of  you,  dear  Sir,  by  all  the 
tender  efficacy  that  friendship,  either  mine  or  that  of 
your  friends  and  relations  together,  can  have  upon 
you  ;  by  the  due  regard  which  humanity,  and  even 
Christianity,  obliges  you  to  have  to  your  reputation ; 
by  the  duty  you  owe  unto  the  King ;  by  your  love 
to  the  land  of  your  nativity;  and  by  the  cause  of 
universal  religion,  and  eternal  truth  ;  let  not  the 
scandal  of  insincerity,  that  I  have  hinted  at,  lie  any 

VOL.  II.  C 


14  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

longer  upon  you  ;  but  let  the  sense  of  all  these  obli- 
gations persuade  you  to  gratify  your  friends  and  re- 
lations, and  to  serve  your  King,  your  country,  and 
your  religion,  by  such  a  public  vindication  of  your 
honour,  as  your  own  prudence,  upon  these  sugges- 
tions, will  now  show  you  to  be  most  necessary  and 
most  expedient.  I  am,  with  unfeigned  and  most 
respectful  affection.  Honoured  Sir, 

"  Your  most  humble  and  most 
obedient  servant, 

*'  William  Popple/' 

William  Penn  was  at  Teddington,  near  London, 
when  this  letter  reached  him.  It  was  dated  the 
twentieth  of  October,  and  on  the  twenty-fourth  he 
answered  it.  His  answer,  which  I  shall  now  give 
to  the  reader,  seems  to  have  been  more  finished  than 
most  of  his  compositions  of  the  same  sort ;  and  af- 
fords a  proof  that,  however  high  others  might  rise 
in  their  style,  diction,  and  the  manner  of  their  argu- 
ment, in  those  letters  which  they  addressed  to  him, 
he  also  was  able,  when  there  was  sufficient  ground 
of  incitement,  to  attain  an  equal  height. 
"  Worthy  Friend, 

*^  It  is  now  above  twenty  years,  I  thank  God,  that 
I  have  not  been  very  solicitous  what  the  world 
thought  of  me  :  for  since  I  have  had  the  know- 
ledge of  religion  from  a  principle^  in  myself,  the 

*  V'e  means  the  spirit  in  man,  which  is  illuminated  by  the 
Spirit  of  God,  so  that  the  more  the  former  bows  itself  for  instruc- 
tion to  the  latter,  the  more  the  man  advances  both  inwardly  and 
outwardly  to  a  holy  life. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN%  15 

first  and  main  point  with  me  has  been  to  approve 
myself  in  the  sight  of  God  through  patience  and 
well-doing ;  so  that  the  world  has  not  had  weight 
enough  with  me  to  suffer  its  good  opinion  to  raise 
me,  or  its  ill  opinion  to  deject  me.  And  if  that  had 
been  the  only  motive  or  consideration,  and  not  the 
desire  of  a  good  friend  in  the  name  of  many  others^ 
I  had  been  as  silent  to  thy  letter  as  I  use  to  be  to  the 
idle  and  malicious  shams  of  the  times  :  but  as  the 
laws  of  friendship  are  sacred  with  those  that  value 
that  relation,  so  I  confess  this  to  be  a  principal  one 
with  me,  not  to  deny  a  friend  the  satisfaction  he  de- 
sires, when  it  may  be  done  without  offence  to  a  good 
conscience, 

*^  The  business  chiefly  insisted  upon  Is  my  Po- 
pery, and  endeavours  to  promote  it.  I  do  say  then, 
and  that  with  all  sincerity,  that  I  am  not  only  no  Je- 
suit, but  no  Papist ;  and,  which  is  more,  I  never  had 
any  temptation  upon  me  to  be  it,  either  from  doubts 
in  my  own  mind  about  the  way  I  profess,  or  from 
the  discourses  or  writings  of  any  of  that  religion. 
And  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God  I  do  declare 
that  the  King  did  never  once,  directly  or  indirectly, 
attack  me,  or  tempt  me,  upon  that  subject,  the  many 
years  that  I  have  had  the  advantage  of  a  free  access 
to  him  ;  so  unjust,  as  well  as  sordidly  false,  are  all 
those  stories  of  the  town  ! 

"  The  only  reason,  that  I  can  apprehend,  they 
have  to  repute  me  a  Roman  Catholic,  is,  my  fre- 
quent going  to  Whitehall,  a  place  no  more  forbid  to 
me  than  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  who  yet,  it  seems?, 


'16  MEMOIRS    OF    rUE    LIFE  f 

find  much  fairer  quarter.  I  have  almost  continually 
had  one  business  or  other  there  for  our  Friends, 
whom  I  ever  served  with  a  steady  solicitation 
through  all  times  since  I  vv^as  of  their  communion. 
I  had  also  a  great  many  personal  good  offices  to  do, 
upon  a  principle  of  chanty,  for  people  of  all  per- 
suasions, thinking  it  a  duty  to  improve  the  little  in- 
terest I  had  for  the  good  of  those  that  needed  it, 
especially  the  poor.  I  might  add  something  of  my 
own  affairs  too,  though  I  must  own  (if  I  may  with- 
out vanity)  that  they  have  ever  had  the  least  share, 
of  my  thoughts  or  pains,  or  else  they  would  not  have 
still  depended  as  they  yet  do. 

*'  But  because  some  people  are  so  unjust  as  to 
render  instances  for  my  Popery,  (or  rather  hypocri- 
sy, for  so  it  would  be  in  me,)  'tis  fit  I  contradict 
them  as  particularly  as  they  accuse  me.  1  say  then 
solemnly,  that  I  am  so  far  from  having  been  bred  at 
St.  Omer's,  and  having  received  orders  at  Rome, 
that  I  never  was  at  either  place,  nor  do  I  know  any 
body  there  ;  nor  had  I  ever  a  correspondence  witl\ 
any  body  in  those  places :  which  is  another  story  in- 
vented  against  me.  And  as  for  my  officiating  in  the 
King's  chapel,  or  any  other,  it  is  so  ridiculous  as  well 
as  untrue,  that,  besides  that  nobody  can  do  it  but  a 
priest,  and  that  I  have  been  married  to  a  woman  of 
some  condition  above  sixteen  years  (which  no  priest 
can  be  by  any  dispensation  v/hatever),  I  have  not  so 
much  as  looked  into  any  chapel  of  the  Roman  reli- 
gion j  and  consequently  not  tha  King's,  though  a 


OF   WILLIAM    PENK.  1/ 

common  curiosity  warrants  it  daily  to  people  of  all 
persuasions. 

"  And,  once  for  all,  I  do  say  that  I  am  a  Protes- 
tant Dissenter,  and  to  that  degree  such,  that  I  chal- 
lenge the  most  celebrated  Protestant  of  the  English 
church,  or  any  other,  on  that  head,  be  he  layman  or 
clergyman,  in  public  or  in  private.  For  I  would 
have  such  people  know,  'tis  not  impossible  for  a  true 
Protestant  Dissenter  to  be  dutiful,  thankful,  and 
serviceable  to  the  King,  though  he  be  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  communion.  Wq  hold  not  our  property 
or  protection  from  him  by  our  persuasion,  and 
therefore  his  persuasion  should  not  be  the  measure 
of  our  allegiance.  I  am  sorry  to  see  so  many,  that 
seem  fond  of  the  Reformed  Religion,  by  their  disaf- 
fection to  him  recommend  it  so  ill.  Whatever  prac- 
tices of  Roman  Catholics  we  might  reasonably  ob- 
ject against  (and  no  doubt  but  such  there  are),  yet 
he  has  disclaimed  and  reprehended,  those  ill  things 
by  his  declared  opinion  against  persecution,  by  the 
ease  in  whicli  he  actually  indulges  all  Dissenters, 
and  by  the  confirmation  he  offers  in  Parliament  for 
the  security  of  the  Protestant  religion  and  liberty  of 
conscience.  And  in  his  honour,  as  well  as  in  my 
own  defence,  I  am  obliged  in  conscience  to  say,  that 
he  has  ever  declared  to  me  it  was  his  opinion  ;  and 
on  all  occasions,  when  Duke,  he  never  refused  me 
the  repeated  proofs  of  it,  as  often  as  I  had  any 
poor  sufferers  for  conscience  sake  to  solicit  his  help 
for. 

C2 


18  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

"  But  some  may  be  apt  to  say,  *  Why  not  an}' 
body  else  as  well  as  I  r  Why  must  I  have  the  pre- 
ferable access  to  other  Dissenters,  if  not  a  Papist?' 

I  answer,  I  know  not  that  it  is  so. -But  this  I 

know,  that  I  have  made  it  my  province  and  busi- 
ness ;  I  have  followed  and  prest  it ;  I  took  it  for 
my  calling  and  station,  and  have  kept  it  above  these 
sixteen  years  ;  and,  which  is  more  (if  I  may  say  it 
without  vanity  or  reproach),  wholly  at  my  own 
charges  too.  To  this  let  me  add  the  relation  my 
father  had  to  this  King's  service,  his  particular  fa- 
vour in  getting  me  released  out  of  the  Tower  of 
London  in  1669,  my  father's  humble  request  to  him 
Upon  his  death-bed  to  protect  me  from  the  inconve- 
niencies  and  troubles  my  persuasion  might  expose 
me  to,  and  his  friendly  promise  to  do  it,  and  exact 
performance  of  it  from  the  moment  I  addressed 
myself  to  him  ;  I  say,  when  all  this  is  considered, 
any  body,  that  has  the  least  pretence  to  good  nature, 
gratitude,  or  generosity,  must  needs  know  how  to 
interpret  my  access  to  the  King.  Perhaps  some 
will  be  ready  to  say,  '  This  is  not  all,  nor  is  this 
yet  a  fault ;  but  that  I  have  been  an  adviser  in  other 
matters  disgustful  to  the  kingdom,  and  which  tend 
to  the  overthrow  of  the  Protestant  religion  and  the 
liberties  of  the  people.'— ^A  likely  thing,  indeed, 
that  a  Protestant  Dissenter,  who  from  fifteen  years 
old  has  been  (at  times)  a  sufferer  in  his  father's  fa- 
mily, in  the  University,  and  by  the  Government, 
for  being  so,  should  design  the  destruction  of  the 
Protestant  religion !  This  is  just  as  probable  as  it  i$ 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  19 

true  that  I  died  a  Jesuit  six  years  ago  in  America. 
■    Will  men  still  suffer  such  stuff  to  pass  upon 

them  ? Is  any  thing  more  foolish,  as  well  as 

ialse,  than  that  because  I  am  often  at  Whitehall, 
therefore  I  must  be  the  author  of  all  that  is  done 
there  that  does  not  please  abroad  ? But,  suppos- 
ing some  such  things  to  have  been  done,  pray  tell 
me,  if  I  am  bound  to  oppose  any  thing  that  I  am  not 
called  to  do  ?  I  never  was  a  member  of  council,  ca- 
binet, or  committee,  where  the  affairs  of  the  king- 
dom are  transacted.  I  have  had  no  office,  or  trusty 
and  consequently  nothing  can  be  said  to  be  done  by 
me  ;  nor,  for  that  reason,  could  I  lie  under  any  test 
or  obligation  to  discover  my  opinion  of  public  acts 
of  state ;  and  therefore  neither  can  any  such  acts,  or 
my  silence  about  them,  in  justice  be  made  my 
crime.  Volunteers  are  blanks  and  cyphers  in  all 
governments.  And  unless  calling  at  Whitehall  once 
a  day,  upon  many  occasions,  or  my  not  being  turned 
out  of  nothing  (for  that  no  office  is),  be  the  evidence 
of  my  compliance  in  disagreeable  things,  I  know  not 
what  else  can,  with  any  truth,  be  alleged  against  me. 
How-ever,  one  thing  I  know,  that  I  have  every 
where  most  religiously  observed,  and  endeavoured 
in  conversation  with  persons  of 'all  ranks  and  opi- 
nions, to  allay  heats,  and  moderate  extremes,  even 
in  the  politics.  It  is  below  me  to  be  more  particu- 
lar ;  but  I  am  sure  it  has  been  my  endeavour,  that 
if  we  could  not  all  meet  upon  a  religious  bottom,  at 
least  we  might  upon  a  civil  one,  the  good  of  Eng- 
land, which  is  the  common  interest  of  King  and 


20  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

People  ;  that  he  might  be  great  by  justice,  and  we 
free  by  obedience  ;  distinguishing  rightly,  on  the 
one  hand,  between  duty  and  slavery ;  and,  on  the 
other,  between  liberty  and  licentiousness. 

"  But,  alas  !  I  am  not  without  my  apprehension  of 
the  cause  of  this  behaviour  towards  me,  and  in  this 
I  perceive  we  agree ;  I  mean  my  constant  zeal  for 
an  impartial  liberty  of  conscience.  But  if  that  be 
it,  the  cause  is  too  good  to  be  in  pain  about.  I  ever 
understood  that  to  be  the  natural  Right  of  all  men ; 
and  that  he  that  had  a  religion  without  it,  his  reli- 
gion was  none  of  his  own.  For  what  is  not  the 
religion  of  a  man's  choice  is  the  religion  of  him  that 
imposes  it :  so  that  liberty  of  conscience  is  the  first 
step  to  have  a  religion.  This  is  no  new  opinion  with 
me.  I  have  writ  many  apologies  within  the  last 
twenty  years  to  defend  it,  and  that  impartially.  Yet 
I  have  as  constantly  declared  that  bounds  ought  to 
be  set  to  this  freedom,  and  that  morality  was  the 
best ;  and  that  as  often  as  that  was  violated,  under 
a  pretence  of  conscience,  it  was  fit  the  civil  power 
should  take  place.  Nor  did  I  ever  think  of  pro« 
moting  any  sort  of  liberty  of  conscience  for  any 
body,  which  did  not  preserve  the  common  Protes- 
tancy  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  ancient  rights  of  the 
Government ;  for,  to  say  truth,  the  one  cannot  be 
maintained  without  the  other. 

"  Upon  the  whole  matter,  I  must  say,  I  love 
England  ;  I  ever  did  so  ;  and  that  I  am  not  in  her 
debt.  I  never  valued  time,  money,  or  kindred,  to 
serve  her  and  do  her  good.     No  party  could  ever 


Gx    WILLIAM    PENN.  ^1 

bias  me  to  her  prejudice,  nor  any  personal  interest 
oblige  me  in  her  wrong :  for  I  always  abhorred  dis- 
counting private  favours  at  the  public  cost. 

"  Would  I  have  made  my  market  of  the  fears 
and  jealousies  of  the  people,  when  this  King  came 
to  the  crown,  I  had  put  twenty  thousand  pounds 
into  my  pocket,  and  an  hundred  thousand  into  my 
Province  ;  for  mighty  numbers  of  people  were  then 
upon  the  wing  :  but  I  waved  it  all ;  hoped  for  bet- 
ter times  ;  expected  the  effects  of  the  King's  word 
for  liberty  of  conscience,  and  happiness  by  it :  and 
till  I  saw  my  friend^,  with  the  kingdom,  delivered 
from  the  legal  bondage  which  penal  laws  for  reli- 
gion had  subjected  them  to,  I  could  with  no  satis- 
faction think  of  leaving  England,  though  much  to 
my  prejudice  beyond  sea,  and  at  my  great  expense 
here,  having  in  all  this  time  never  had  either  office 
or  pension,  and  alvvays  refusing  the  rewards  or  gra-i 
tuities  of  those  I  have  been  able  to  oblige. 

"  If,  therefore,  an  universal  charity,  if  the  assert- 
ing an  impartial  liberty  of  conscience,  if  doing  to 
others  as  we  would  be  done  by,  and  an  open  avow- 
ing and  steady  practising  of  these  things,  in  all 
times,  and  to  all  parties,  will  justly  lay  a  man  under 
the  reflection  of  being  a  Jesuit,  or  Papist  of  any 
rank,  I  must  not  only  submit  to  the  character,  but 
embrace  it  too  ;  and  I  care  not  who  knows,  that  I 
can  wear  it  with  more  pleasure  than  it  is  possible  for 
them  with  any  justice  to  give  it  me.  For  these  are 
corner-stones  and  principles  with  me  ;  and  I  am 
scandalized  at  all  buildings  which  have  them  not  for 


22  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

their  foundations.  For  religion  itself  is  an  empty 
name  without  them,  a  whited  wall,  a  painted  sepul- 
chre, no  life  or  virtue  to  the  soul,  no  good,  or  exam- 
ple to  one's  neighbour.  Let  us  not  flatter  ourselves ; 
we  can  never  be  the  better  for  our  religion,  if  our 
neighbour  be  the  worse  for  it.  Our  fault  is,  we  are 
apt  to  be  mighty  hot  upon  speculative  errors,  and 
break  all  bounds  in  our  resentments  ;  but  we  let 
practical  ones  pass  without  remark,  if  not  without 
repentance  :  as  if  a  mistake  about  an  obscure  pro- 
position of  faith  were  a  greater  evil  than  the  breach 
of  an  undoubted  precept.  Such  a  religion  the  devib 
themselves  are  not  without ;  for  they  have  both 
faith  and  knowledge  :  but  their  faith  doth  not  work 
by  love,  nor  their  knowledge  by  obedience.  And 
if  .this  be  their  judgment,  can  it  be  our  blessing  ? — 
Let  us  not  then  think  religion  a  litigious  thing,  nor 
that  Christ  came  only  to  make  us  good  disputants, 
but  that  he  came  also  to  make  us  good  livers  :  sin- 
cerity goes  further  than  capacity.  It  is  charity  that 
deservedly  excels  in  the  Christian  religion  ;  and 
happy  would  it  be  if  where  unity  ends,  charity  did 
begin,  instead  of  envy  and  railing,  that  almost  ever 
follow.  It  appears  to  me  to  be  the  way  that  God 
has  found  out  and  appointed  to  moderate  our  differ- 
ences, and  make  them  at  least  harmless  to  society ; 
and  therefore  I  confess,  I  dare  not  aggravate  them 
to  wrath  and  blood.  Our  disagreement  lies  in  our 
apprehension  or  belief  of  things ;  and  if  the  com- 
mon enemy  of  mankind  had  not  the  governing  of 
Qur  affections  and  passions,  that  disagreement  would 


OF   WILLIAM   PEIW.  23 

Hot  prove  such  a  canker,  as  it  is,  to  love  and  peace 
in  civil  societies. 

"  He  that  suffers  his  difference  with  his  neighbour 
about  the  other  world  to  carry  him  beyond  the  line 
of  moderation  in  this,  is  the  worse  for  his  opinion, 
even  though  it  be  true.  It  is  too  little  considered 
by  Christians,  that  men  may  hold  the  truth  in  un- 
righteousness ;  that  they  may  be  orthodox,  and  not 
know  what  spirit  they  are  of.  So  were  the  apostles 
of  our  Lord  :  they  believed  in  him,  yet  let  a  false 
zeal  do  violence  to  their  judgment,  and  their  unwar- 
rantable heat  contradict  the  great  end  of  their  Sa- 
viour's coming,  Love. 

"  Men  may  be  angry  for  God's  sake,  and  kill  peo- 
ple too.  Christ  said  it,  and  too  many  have  practised 
it.  But  what  sort  of  Christians  must  they  be,  I 
pray,  that  can  hate  in  his  name  who  bids  us  love, 
and  kill  for  his  sake,  that  forbids  killing,  and  com- 
mands love,  even  to  enemies  ? 

"  Let  not  men,  or  parties,  think  to  shift  it  off 
from  themselves.  It  is  not  this  principle,  or  that 
form,  to  which  so  great  a  defection  is  owing,  but  a 
degeneracy  of  mind  from  God.  Christianitv  is  not 
at  heart ;  no  fear  of  God  in  the  inward  parts  ;  no 
awe  of  his  divine  omnipresence.  Self  prevails,  and 
breaks  out,  more  or  less,  through  all  forms  but  toe 
plainly,  (pride,  wrath,  lust,  avarice,)  so  that  though 
people  say  to  God,  Thy  will  be  done,  they  do  their 
own ;  which  shows  them  to  be  true  Heathens, 
under  a  mask  of  Christianity,  that  believe  without 
works,  and    repent  without  forsaking ;    busy  foi: 


24  HIIMOIRS    OF    THE    Lli^'E 

forms,  and  the  temporal  benefits  of  them ;  while 
true  religion^  which  is  to  visit  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow^  and  to  keep  ourselves  unspotted  from  the 
world,  goes  barefoot,  and  like  Lazarus  is  despised. 
Yet  this  was  the  definition  the  Holy  Ghost  gave  of 
religion^  before  Synods  and  Councils  had  the 
meddling  with  it  and  modelling  of  it.  In  those 
days  bowels  were  a  good  part  of  religion,  and  that 
to  the  fatherless  and  widow  at  large.  We  can 
hardly  now  extend  them  to  those  of  our  own  way. 
It  was  said  by  him  that  could  not  say  amiss,  '  Be- 
cause iniquity  abounds,  the  love  of  many  waxeth 
cold.'  Whatsoever  divides  man's  heart  from  God 
separates  it  from  his  neighbour  ;  and  he  that  loves 
self  more  than  God,  can  never  love  his  neighbour 
as  himself.  For  (as  the  apostle  said)  '  If  we  do  not 
love  him,  whom  we  have  seen,  how  can  we  love 
God,  whom  we  have  not  seen?' 

"  O  that  we  could  see  some  men  as  eager  to  turn 
people  to  God,  as  they  are  to  blow  them  up,  and  set 
them  one  against  another  !  But,  indeed,  those  only 
can  have  that  pure  and  pious  zeal,  who  are  them- 
selves turned  to  God,  and  have  tasted  the  sweetness 
of  that  conversion,  which  is  to  power,  and  not  to 
form;  to  godliness,  and  not  to  gain.  Such  as  those 
do  bend  their  thoughts  and  pains  to  appease,  not  in- 
crease heats  and  animosities ;  to  exhort  people  to 
look  at  home,  sweep  their  own  houses,  and  weed 
their  own  gardens.  And  in  no  age  or  time  was 
there  more  need  to  set  men  at  work  in  their  own' 
hearts,  than  this  we  live  in,  when  so  busy,  wander- 


OF  WILLIAM    PENN.  25 

ing,  licentious  a  spirit  prevails  ;  for,  whatever  some 
men  may  think,  the  disease  of  this  kingdom  is  sin, 
impiety  against  God,  and  want  of  charity  to  men. 
And  while  this  guilt  is  at  our  door,  judgment 
cannot  be  far  off. 

"  Now  this  being  the  disease,  I  w^ill  briefly  offer 
two  things  for  the  cure  of  it. 

**  The  first  is  David's  clean  heart  and  right  spirit, 
which  he  asked  and  had  of  God  :  without  this  we 
must  be  a  chaos  still :  for  the  distemper  is  within  ; 
and  our  Lord  said,  all  evil  comes  from  thence.  Set 
the  inward  man  right,  and  the  outward  man  cannot 
be  wrong  ;  that  is  the  helm  that  governs  the  human 
vessel;  and  this  nothing  can  do  but  an  inward  prin- 
ciple, the  light  and  grace  that  came  by  Christ, 
which,  the  Scriptures  tell  us,  enlightens  every  one, 
and  hath  appeared  to  all  men. — It  is  preposterous  to 
think  that  he,  who  made  the  world,  should  show 
least  care  of  the  best  part  of  it,  our  souls.  No  :  he 
that  gave  us  an  outward  luminary  for  our  bodies, 
hath  given  us  an  inw^ard  one  for  our  minds  to  act 
by.  We  have  it ;  and  it  is  our  condemnation  that 
we  do  not  love  it,  and  bring  our  deeds  to  it.  'Tis 
by  this  we  see  our  sins,  are  made  sensible  of  them, 
sorry  for  them,  and  finally  forsake  them.  And  he 
that  thinks  to  go  to  Heaven  a  nearer  way,  will,  I 
fear,  belate  his  soul,  and  be  irrevocably  mistaken. 
There  are  but  goats  and  sheep  at  last,  whatever 
shapes  we  wear  here.  Let  us  not  therefore,  dear 
friend,  deceive  ourselves.  Our  souls  are  at  stake  j 
God  will  not  be  mocked ;  what  we  sow  we  must 

VOL.  II.  D 


26  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

expect  to  reap.  There  is  no  repentance  in  the 
grave  ;  which  shows  that,  if  none  there,  then  no 
where  else.  To  sum  up  this  divinity  of  mine:  It  is 
the  light  of  Jesus  in  our  souls,  that  gives  us  a  true 
sight  of  ourselves,  and  that  sight  that  leads  us  to  re- 
pentance ;  which  repentance  begets  humility,  and 
humility  that  true  charity  that  covers  a  multitude  of 
faults,  which  I  call  God's  expedient  against  man's 
infirmity." 

"  The  second  remedy  to  our  present  distemper  is 
this  :  Since  all  of  all  parties  profess  to  believe  in 
God,  Christ,  the  Spirit,  and  Scripture ;  that  the  soul 
is  immortal;  that  there  are  eternal  rewards  and 
punishments ;  and  that  the  virtuous  shall  receive 
the  one,  and  the  wicked  suffer  the  other :  I  say, 
since  this  is  the  common  faith  of  Christendom,  let 
us  all  resolve  in  the  strength  of  God  to  live  up  to 
what  we  agree  in,  before  we  fall  out  so  miserably 
about  the  rest  in  which  we  differ.  I  am  persuaded, 
the  change  and  comfort,  which  that  pious  course 
would  bring  us  to,  would  go  very  far  to  dispose  our 
natures  to  compound  easily  for  all  the  rest,  and  we 
might  hope  yet  to  see  happy  days  in  poor  England, 
for  there  I  would  have  so  good  a  work  begun. 
And  how  it  is  possible  for  the  eminent  men  of 
every  religious  persuasion  (especially  the  present 
ministers  of  the  parishes  of  England)  to  think  of 
giving  an  account  to  God  at  the  last  day,  without 
using  the  utmost  of  their  endeavours  to  moderate 
the  members  of  their  respective  communions 
towards  those  that  differ  from  them,  is  a  mystery  t© 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  2'/ 

me.  But  this  I  know,  and  must  lay  it  at  their 
doors  ;  I  charge  also  my  own  soul  with  it ;  God  re- 
quires moderation  and  humility  from  us  ;  for  he  is 
at  hand,  who  will  not  spare  to  judge  our  impatience* 
if  we  have  no  patience  for  one  another.  The 
eternal  God  rebuke  (I  beseech  him)  the  wrath  of 
man,  and  humble  all  under  the  sense  of  the  evil  of 
this  day ;  and  yet  (unworthy  as  we  are)  give  us 
peace  for  his  holy  name's  sake, 

"  It  is  now  time  to  end  this  letter,  and  I  will  now 
do  it  without  saying  any  more  than  this :  Thou 
seest  my  defence  against  popular  calumny ;  thou 
seest  what  my  thoughts  are  of  our  condition,  and 
the  way  to  better  it ;  and  thou  seest  my  hearty  and 
humble  prayer  to  Almighty  God  to  incline  us  to  be 
wise,  if  it  were  but  for  our  own  sakes.  I  shall  only 
add,  that  I  am  extremely  sensible  of  the  kindness 
and  justice  intended  me  by  my  friends  on  this 
occasion,  and  that  I  am  for  that,  and  many  more 
reasons, 

"  Thy  obliged  and  affectionate  Friend, 

"  William  Penn.'* 

In  about  a  fortnight  after  the  %vriting  of  this 
letter,  the  nation  being  in  a  ferment  on  account  of 
the  arbitrary  proceedings  of  James  the  Second^ 
William  Prince  of  Orange  landed  at  Torbay.  He 
was  received  there  with  open  arms,  as  well  as  after- 
wards by  the  country  at  large.  Officers  and  men, 
abandoning  their  former  banners,  deserted  to  serve 
under  him.     The  national  discontent  indeed  was 


28  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

such,  that  James  found  it  necessary  to  leave  the 
kingdom  and  to  retire  to  France.  In  process  of 
time,  as  is  well  known,  the  Prince  of  Orange  and 
his  consort  were  advanced  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
realm. 

The  state  of  mind,  which  William  Penn  must 
have  experienced  on  this  sudden  turn  of  things, 
may  be  imagined.  He  lost,  by  the  flight  of  the 
King,  one  who  with  all  his  political  failings  had 
been  his  firm  friend.  But  he  lost  (what  most 
deeply  afflicted  him)  the  great  patron,  on  whom  he 
counted  for  the  support  of  that  plan  of  religious 
Toleration,  for  which  chiefly  he  had  abandoned  his 
infant  settlement  in  America,  at  a  time  when  his 
presence  was  of  great  importance  to  its  well-being. 
Neither  had  he  any  prospect  that  all  he  had  labour- 
ed for  or  brought  about  would  not,  on  account  of 
the  prejudices  of  the  times,  be  utterly  undone. 
Fallen  too  from  power,  and  from  the  protection 
which  power  gave  him,  he  was  left  exposed  to  thp 
popular  indignation  as  a  Papist  and  Jesuit^  and  as 
one  who  had  aimed  to  establish  popery  and  arbi- 
trary power  in  the  kingdom.  To  return  to 
America,  though  she  presented  to  him  a  peaceful 
asylum,  he  dared  not,  for  that  would  have  led 
persons  to  conclude  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  what 
had  been  laid  to  his  charge.  To  stay  in  England 
was  dangerous.  Conscious,  however,  of  his  own 
innocence,  he  resolved  to  remain  where  he  was,  and 
to  go  at  large  as  before,  following  those  occupations 


OF   WILLIAM   PENN.  29 

by  which  he  thought  he  could  best  promote  the  good 
of  his  fellow-creatures. 

But  it  was  not  long  after  this  determination, 
before  he  felt  the  effect  of  the  political  change  which 
had  taken  place ;  for  on  the  tenth  of  December 
walking  in  Whitehall,  he  was  sent  for  by  the  Lords 
of  the  Council,  who  were  then  sitting.  Here  he 
underwent  an  examination.  In  reply  to  some 
questions  which  were  put  to  him,  he  protested, 
that  "  he  had  done  nothing  but  what  he  could 
answer  before  God,  and  all  the  Princes  in  the 
world ;  that  he  loved  his  country  and  the  Protest- 
ant religion  above  his  life,  and  had  never  acted 
against  either;  that  all  he  had  ever  aimed  at  in  his 
public  endeavours  was  no  other  than  what  the 
Prince  himself  had  declared  for ;  that  King  James 
had  always  been  his  friend,  and  his  father's  friend ; 
and  that  in  gratitude  he  himself  was  the  King's,  and 
did  ever,  as  much  as  in  him  lay,  influence  him  to 
his  true  interest."  Notwithstanding  this  manly 
and  open  declaration,  and  that  nothing  appeared 
against  him,  the  Council  obliged  him  to  give  secu- 
rity for  his  appearance  the  first  day  of  the  next 
term.  Having  complied  with  their  mandate,  he  was 
discharged. 

With  respect  to  America,  things  did  not  go  on  to 
his  satisfaction  there,  for  he  determined  upon  an- 
other change  in  the  Government  by  reducing  the 
Executive  to  three  persons.  Instead  of  five  Com- 
missioners it  was  to  consist  of  a  Deputy  Governor 
and  two  Assistants*  This  arrangement  he  commu^ 
D2 


>0  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    LIFE 

nicated  by  letter  to  President  Lloyd^  who  had 
before  signified  his  intention  of  resigning  his  oj95ce, 
in  which  he  offered  him  the  Deputy  Governorship. 
^'  Now,  though  I  have,'^  says  he  in  this  letter,  "  to 
])lease  thee,  given  thee  a  quietus  from  all  public 
business,  my  intention  is  to  constitute  thee  Deputy 
Governor,  and  two  in  the  character  of  Assistants, 
either  of  whom  and  thyself  to  be  able  to  do  all  as 
fully  as  I  myself  can  do :  only  I  wait  thy  consent  to 
the  employment,  of  which  advise  me." 

President  Lloyd  still  persisting  in  his  resignation, 
William  Penn  was  obliged  to  look  out  for  another 
person,  and  in  the  course  of  his  enquiries  fixed 
upon  Captain  John  BlackwelL  He  therefore  noti- 
fied this  appointment  to  the  Commissioners,  In  his 
letter  to  them  he  stated  that,  when  he  determined 
upon  this  change,  it  "  was  not  because  he  was  dis- 
satisfied with  their  care  or  service."  He  then  ad- 
verted to  the  character  of  Blackwell.  "  For  your 
ease  I  have  appointed  one  that  is  not  a  Friend,  but 
a  grave,  sober,  wise  man,  to  be  Governor  in  my 
absence.  He  married  old  General  Lambert's 
daughter;  was  Treasurer  to  the  Commonwealth'is 
army  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland :  I  suppose^ 
indepe  .dent  in  judgment.  Let  him  see  what  he 
can  do  awhile.  I  have  ordered  him  to  confer  in 
private  with  you,  and  square  himself  by  your 
advice.  If  he  do  not  please  you,  he  shall  be  laid 
aside.  I  desire  you  to  receive  him  with  kindness, 
and  let  him  see  it,  and  use  his  not  being  a  Friend  to 
Friends'  advantage.     He  has  a  mighty  repute  of  all 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  31 

sorts  of  honest  people,  where  he  has  inhabited; 
which,  with  my  own  knowledge,  has  made  me 
venture  upon  him."  He  then  spoke  of  his  quit- 
rents  as  if  still  in  arrear,  and  as  if  Blackwell  had 
been  appointed  as  being  a  particularly  proper  per- 
son to  superintend  the  collection  of  them.  "  I  have 
rough  people  to  deal  with  about  my  quit-rents,  that 
yet  cannot  pay  a  ten-pound  bill,  but  draw,  draw, 
drav»^,  still  upon  me.  And  it  being  his  talent 
(Blackwell's)  to  regulate  and  set  things  in  method, 
easy  and  just,  I  have  pitched  upon  him  to  advise 
therein."  It  appears  by  the  same  letter  as  if  he  had 
been  dissatisfied  with  the  conduct  of  the  Assembly. 
"  I  will  add  this,"  says  he,  ''  that  the  Assembly,  as 
they  call  themselves,  are  not  so  without  Governor 
and  Privy  Council^,  and  that  no  Speaker,  Clerk,  or 
Book,  belongs  to  them;  and  that  the  people  have 
their  Representatives  in  the  Privy  Council  to  pre- 
pare Bills,  and  the  Assembly,  as  it  is  called,  has  only 
the  power  of  aye  or  no,  yea  or  nay.  If  they  turn 
debaters,  judges,  or  complainers,  they  overthrow  the 
Charter  quite  in  the  very  root  of  the  constitution  of 
it,  for  it  is  to  usurp  the  Privy  Councils  part  in  the 
Charter,  and  to  forfeit  the  Charter  itself." 

At  this  time  Captain  Blackwell  was  in  New 
England,  and  of  course  not  far  from  his  new  Go- 
vernment :  but  his  Commission  had  been  sent  him, 

•  It  is  to  be  observed  here,  that  when  he  changed  the  Execu- 
tive to  five  Commissioners,  the  Council  still  existed  separately y  and 
so  it  did  w^hen  he  changed  it  to  Deputy  Governor  and  two  As- 
sistants. 


32  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

and  with  it  a  letter,  in  which  we  find  among  others 
the  following  instructions :  "  That  things  should  be 
transacted  in  his  name  by  the  style  of  his  Patent 
only,  namely,  absolute  Proprietor  of  Pennsylvania ; 
that  Commissions  signed  and  sealed  by  him  in  Eng- 
land should  be  sufficient  warrants  to  pass  them 
under  the  Great  Seal ;  that  the  Laws  which  were  in 
being  should  be  collected  and  sent  over  to  him  in  a 
stitched  book  by  the  very  first  opportunity;  that 
the  Sheriffs  of  the  respective  counties  should  be 
charged  with  the  receipt  of  his  rents  and  fines,  as  in 
England,  and  give  security  to  the  Receiver-general 
for  the  time ;  that  care  should  be  taken  of  the  roads 
and  highways  in  the  country,  that  they  might  be 
straight  and  commodious  for  travellers,  having 
been  improperly  turned  about  by  planters  for  their 
own  convenience;  that  speedy  and  impartial  justice 
should  be  done,  and  virtue  cherished  and  vice 
punished ;  that  fines  should  be  in  proportion  to  the 
fault  and  ability  of  the  offender ;  that  feuds  between 
persuasions  and  nations  should  be  extinguished,  as 
well  as  by  good  conduct  prevented ;  and  that  the 
widow,  the  oi^phan,  and  the  absent,  might  be  par- 
ticularly regarded  in  their  rights.'' 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  33 


CHAPTER  11. 

J.  1689 — appears  according  to  his  bail — no  witness 
being  found  against  him^  is  discharged — Tolera- 
tion-act passes — the  great  privileges  it  confer-- 
red — his  joy  on  the  occasion — the  great  share  he 
had  in  bringing  it  about — affairs  of  Pennsyl- 
vania • 

The  time  drew  near,  when  William  Penn  was  t© 
answer  the  charges,  which  might  be  made  against 
him,  in  a  public  Court.  Accordingly,  on  the  last 
day  of  Easter  Term  he  made  his  appearance  there. 
After  waiting  a  considerable  time,  not  one  person 
could  be  produced  against  him.  Not  one  person 
could  be  found  who  would  either  say  that  he  was 
a  Papist  or  Jesuit^  or  who  would  even  try  to  prove 
that  he  had  aided  in  any  manner  the  late  King  in  an 
attempt  either  to  establish  popery  or  arbitrary 
power.  Accordingly,  nothing  having  been  laid  to 
his  charge,  he  was  discharged  in  open  Court. 

Soon  after  this  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
the  great  Act  of  Toleration  passed  by  King,  Lords, 
and  Commons.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  this  noble 
Act  did  not  come  up  to  the  extent  of  his  own  wishes. 
And  yet  how  vast  the  change !  All  Dissenters  were 
noxv  excused  from  certain  penalties^  if  they  xvould 
only  take  the  Oaths  to  Government*  They  were 
allowed  to  apply  for  Warrants  for  those  houses 


34  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFT 

which  they  intended  to  worship  in,  and  the  Magis- 
trates were  obliged  to  grant  them;  and,  provided 
they  worshipped  in  these  with  the  doors  not  shitty 
they  were  not  to  be  7noIested,  There  was  a  viore 
particular  exemption  in  the  Act  to  the  Sliiakers  for 
the  same  purpose.  Here  then  was  an  end  of  those 
vexatious  arrest»^painfiil  imprisonments,  and  deaths 
in  bonds,  which  had  afflicted  and  desolated  the 
country  for  years.  From  this  time  men  could  go 
to  their  respective  churches,  and  worship  God  in 
security  in  their  own  way.  This  must  have  been  a 
most  gratifying  consideration  to  one  to  whose  labours 
the  Act  itself  was  in  part  owing:  for,  while  at  the 
Hague,  he  had  greatly  impressed  the  mind  of  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  now  King  William,  in  its  favour. 
He  had  been  the  means  of  bringing  over  also  many 
of  his  own  countrymen,  and  these  in  the  Legis- 
lature, to  its  support.  For  in  the  course  of  his 
numerous  publications  he  had  examined  the  ques- 
tion thoroughly,  and  diffused  light  concerning  it 
through  the  kingdom.  He  had  held  up  pictures  of 
individual  suffering,  as  it  had  occurred  in  all  its 
varied  shapes,  to  public  view.  He  had  appealed  to 
reason  and  humanity  on  the  subject.  He  had  anti- 
cipated and  combated  objections.  By  urging  James 
the  Second  to  issue  out,  as  speedily  as  he  did,  and 
then  to  renew,  his  indulgence  to  tender  consciences, 
he  had  given  an  opportunity  to  persons  of  public 
character,  and  to  his  fellow-citizens  at  large,  to  see 
what  would  be  the  effects  of  Toleration.  It  had 
clearly  appeared  that,  while  this   indulgence  con- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN»  35 

tinued,  the  nation  was  in  a  state  of  unexampled 
quiet,  and  that  its  interest  had  been  greatly  pro- 
moted by  an  extraordinary  diffusion  of  industry, 
prosperity,  and  happiness.  And  here  it  may  be  ob- 
served, that  Dr.  Burnet,  who  was  then  Bishop  of 
Salisbury,  and  who  had  taken  an  active  part  in 
favour  of  the  Act  in  question,  gives,  in  the  "  His- 
tory of  his  own  Times,"  those  as  reasons  why  it  had 
passed,  which  William  Penn  had  long  before  given 
as  reasons  why  it  ought  to  pass.  One  would  think, 
indeed,  that  the  one  had  made  use  of  the  very 
words  of  the  other.  ''  Wise  and  good  men,"  says 
Burnet,  "  did  very  much  applaud  the  quieting-  of 
the  nation  by  the  Toleration.  It  seemed  to  be 
suitable  both  to  the  spirit  of  the  Christian  religion 
and  to  the  interest  of  the  nation.  It  was  thought 
very  unreasonable  that,  while  we  were  complaining 
of  the  cruelty  of  the  Church  of  Rome  ^  we  should /a// 
into  such  practices  among  ourselves^  and  this  while 
we  were  engaging  in  a  war,  in  the  progress  of  which 
we  would  need  the  united  strength  of  the  whole 
nation.^^ 

This  great  act  having  passed,  William  Penn 
thought  of  returning  to  America.  But  as  the 
authors  of  infant  projects,  when  ushered  into  the 
world,  feel  interested  both  in  watching  their  pro- 
gress and  their  fate,  so  he  felt  his  inclination  check- 
ed in  this  respect  for  a  time  from  the  same  cause. 
He  felt  a  desire  to  see  how  this  new-born  babe 
would  ')e  received  in  the  kingdom;  how  far  the 
popular  fury  would  be  likely  to  retard,  -or  its  favour 


36  MEMOIRS   Of   THE    LliE 

to  promote  its  growth.  Impressed  by  such  feelingts^ 
he  resolved  to  protract  his  stay  to  the  ensuing 
year. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  year  Captain  Blackwell 
left  Boston  for  Philadelphia.  On  his  arrival  there 
he  delivered  his  appointment  to  the  Commissioners, 
and,  as  soon  as  it  was  acknowledged  by  these,  he 
took  into  his  hands  the  reins  of  the  Government. 
After  a  suitable  time  he  summoned  the  Council 
and  Assembly.  He  made  a  speech  to  the  latter, 
after  which  he  held  himself  ready  to  proceed  upon 
the  business  of  the  Province.  He  had  not,  how- 
ever, been  long  in  office  before  a  misunderstanding 
took  place  between  him  and  some  of  the  Council, 
so  that  the  public  affairs  were  not  managed  with  the 
desired  harmony.  He  found  it  often  difficult  to  get 
so  many  of  them  together  as  v/ould  make  a  legal 
meeting  for  business,  though  more  than  this  num- 
ber were  known  to  be  in  the  city  at  the  time.  He 
net  only  saw,  but  lamented  to  the  Assembly,  that 
dissentions  still  existed  among  them.  At  one  time 
the  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  refused  him  the  use  of 
it  on  what  he  (Blackwell)  thought  (though  he  might 
have  been  mistaken)  a  proper  occasion.  These  dif- 
ferences between  the  Deputy  Governor  and  the  two 
Legislatures  were  early  reported  to  William  Penn. 
All  sides  made  their  complaints  to  him.  Of  course 
he  was  called  upon  to  consider  them.  Having  done 
this,  he  wrote  to  Blackwell,  and  advised  his  resigna- 
tion. The  latter,  finding  that  he  could  not  do  what 
had  been  expected  of  him  in  the  administration  of 


OF  WILLIAM    1»E^N.  37 

the  Province,  honourably  resigned  his  office,  and 
returned  to  England,  after  a  short  stay  in  Philadel- 
phia of  only  a  few  months. 

In  a  letter  written  by  William  Penn  to  a  Friend 
there,  he  unfolded  more  particularly  than  before  the 
reason  why  he  had  appointed  Blackwell  to  the  high 
station  of  Deputy  Governor.  It  appears  that  it  had 
always  been  his  wish  to  confer  the  Government  on 
a  Quaker,  as  one  in  whom  he  himself  would  have 
had  the  most  confidence :  but  there  was  no  Quaker 
fit  for  it  who  would  undertake  it,  persons  of  that 
persuasion  being  generally  averse  from  high  political 
employments.  Obliged  then  to  seek  out  elsewhere, 
he  preferred  one  who  was  a  stranger  to  the  Pro- 
vince, under  a  notion  that  he  might  be  more  impar- 
tial and  more  reverenced:  but  of  all  strangers 
Blackwell  seemed  to  him  to  be  the  most  eligible; 
for,  says  he,  "  he  is  in  England  and  Ireland  of  great 
repute  for  ability,  integrity,  and  virtue.  I  thought 
I  did  well.  It  was  for  good,  God  knows,  and  for 
no  end  of  my  own." 

What  was  the  cause  of  dispute  between  Black- 
well  and  the  other  branches  of  the  J^egislature  is  not 
known.  It  is  possible  that  Blackwell  might  have 
made  himself  obnoxious  by  attending  to  the  busi- 
ness of  the  quit-rents  more  closely  than  was  liked. 
It  is  possible,  again,  that  he  might  have  disgusted 
^ome  by  the  levity  of  his  deportment;  for  he  was  a 
polished  roan  :  he  had  mixed  'with  great  and  fa- 
shionable people,  and  had  seen  the  world.  The 
members  of  the  Legislature,  on  the  other  hand, 

VOL.  II.  E 


38  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIIL. 

were  mostly  of  the  clasa  of  Puritans,  and  of  bevei: 
manners.  They  had  been  rendered  still  more  sour 
by  persecution.  It  is  possible  therefore  that  they 
might  at  their  first  interview,  under  these  opposite 
aspects,  have  appeared  cool  and  reserved  to  him  ; 
and  that  he,  fancying  this  appearance  real,  might 
have  looked  shy  upon  them.  It  is  possible,  again, 
that  they  might  have  been  prejudiced  against  him  as 
a  military  man.  But  whatever  was  the  case,  cer- 
tain  it  is,  from  the  letter  just  mentioned,  that  Wil- 
liam Penn  was  induced  to  suspect,  after  an  attentive 
consideration  of  all  the  evidence  before  him,  that 
Blackwell's  peevishness  did  not  so  much  arise  from 
any  misconduct  in  him  in  the  first  instance  as  in 
them.  "  You  see,"  says  he,  ^'  what  I  have  done 
upon  the  complaints  ;  but  I  must  say,  that  his  pee- 
vishness to  some  Friends  has  not  risen  out  of  the 
dust  without  occasion." 

On  the  departure  of  Blackwell  the  Executive  Go- 
vernment reverted,  according  to  the  Constitution,  to 
the  Council,  of  which  Thomas  Lloyd,  not  willing  to 
desert  the  State  at  this  juncture,  resumed  the  Presi- 
dency ;  so  that,  having  passed  through  the  two 
changes,  first  of  five  Commissioners,  and  then  of  a 
Lieutenant  Governor  with  two  Assistants,  it  came 
back  to  its  old  form,  as  settled  by  the  first  General 
Assembly  in  1683. 

There  are  several  letters  extant,  which  William 
Penn  wrote  to  his  Friends  in  America  this  year.  In 
the  first  of  these,  which  was  written  in  the  early  part 
of  it  and  before  the  coronation  of  William  and  M^- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  39 

ry,  he  repeated  the  cause  which  had  so  long  hinder- 
ed hitn  from  seeing  them.  '^  Europe,"  says  he, 
"  looks  like  a  sea  of  trouble.  Wars  are  like  to  be 
all  over  it  this  summer.  I  strongly  desire  to  see 
you  before  it  be  spent,  if  the  Lord  will ;  and  I  can 
say  in  his  sight,  that  to  improve  my  interest  with 
King  James  for  tender  consciences,  and  that  a 
Christian  liberty  might  be  legally  settled,  though 
against  my  own  interest,  was  that  which  has  sepa- 
rated me  from  you  chiefly."  In  the  same  letter  he 
manifested  his  great  love  and  tender  regard  for 
them  as  a  people.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  it  be  with  you 
as  I  can  say  it  is  widi  me  in  the  presence  of  God^ 
then  are  we  one  with  him  ;  for  neither  length  of 
days,  nor  distance  of  place,  nor  all  the  many  waters 
bet\\een  us,  can  separate  my  heart  and  affection 
from  you." 

In  a  second  he  invited  them  to  that  divine  love, 
which  he  has  just  been  described  to  have  experien- 
ced himself,  as  their  greatest  earthly  blessing.  *'  And 
nvvv,  Friends,"  says  he,  ^'  I  have  a  word  more  for 
yoov  and  that  is  this  ;  that  Faith,  Hope,  and  Chari- 
ty, are  the  great  helps  and  marks  of  true  Chris- 
tians ;   but  above  all  Charity  is  the  Love  of  God. 

Blessed  are  they  who  come  to  it,  and  who  hold 

the  truth  in  it,  and  work  and  act  in  it ;  for  they, 
though  poor  indeed  in  spirit  of  their  own,  are  yet 
rich  in  God^s  ;  though  they  are  meek,  they  inherit. 

This  will  preserve  peace  in  the  church  ;  peace 

in  the  state  ;  peace  in  families  ;  peace  in  particular 
bosoms.     God  Almighty  draw,  I  beseech  him,  all 


40  MCMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

your  hearts  into  this  heavenly  love  more  and  more, 
so  that  the  work  of  it  may  shine  out  more  and  more 
to  his  glory  and  your  comfort!" 

In  a  third,  which  was  a  private  one  to  Thomas 
Lloyd,  he  advised  him  of  a  present  which  he  had 
sent  him,  and  "  which  he  was  to  value  by  the  heart, 
and  not  by  the  thing  itself." 

In  a  fourth,  which  was  addressed  to  the  same, 
after  the  Presidentship  of  the  Council  hsd  reverted 
to  him,  he  instructed  him  to  set  up  a  public  Gram- 
mar School  in  Philadelphia,  which  he,  William 
Penn^  would  incorporate  by  a  charter  at  a  future 
tiipe* 

In  a  fifth,  which  was  addressed  to  the  Council  af- 
ter their  restoration  to  power,  he  expressed  himself 
thus  :  "  I  heartily  wish  you  all  well,  and  dg  beseech 
God  to  guide  you  in  the  ways  of  righteousness  and 
peace.  I  have  thought  fit,  upon  my  further  stop  in 
these  parts,  to  throw  all  into  your  hands,  that  you 
may  all  see  the  confidence  I  have  in  you,  and  the  de- 
sire I  have  to  give  you  all  possible  contentment.  I 
do  earnestly  press  your  constant  attendance  upon  the 
Government,  and  the  diligent  pursuit  of  peace  and 
virtue ;  and  God  Almighty  strengthen  your  hands 
in  so  good  a  work ! If  you  desire  a  Deputy  Go- 
vernor rather,  name  three  or  five  persons,  and  I 
will  name  one  of  them.  I  do  not  do  this  to  lay  a 
binding  precedent,  but  to  give  you  and  the  people 
you  represent  the  fullest  pledges  I  am  able,  at  this 
distance,  of  my  regard  to  them.  Whatever  you  do, 
I  desire,  beseech,  and  chi^rge  you  all  to  avoid  fac- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  41 

tions  and  parties,  whisperings,  and  reportings,  and 
all  animosities  ;  that,  putting  your  common  shoul- 
ders to  the  public  work,  you  may  have  the  reward 
of  good  men  and  patriots ;  and  so  I  bid  you  heartily 
farewell." 


E2 


42  MLMOIilS    or    THE    LIF£ 


CHAPTf:R  III. 

A.  1690 — letter  of  thanks  to  a  Friend — 26^  arrested 
again  on  a  charge  of  corresponding  with  James 
the  Second — his  open  and  manly  defence  before 
King  William — is  made  to  find  bail — appears  in 
Court  and  is  discharged — prepares  for  returning 
to  Pennsylvania — is  again  arrested — tried — and 
acquitted — writes  to  the  widow  of  George  Fox  on 
the  death  of  her  husband — is  on  the  point  of  sail- 
ing for  Pennsylvania^  but  accused  by  Fuller — con* 
stables  sent  to  take  him — the  voyage  stopped — goes 
into  retirement — affairs  of  Pennsylvania* 

William  Penn,  though  he  saw  no  disposition 
either  in  the  King  or  in  the  Parliament  to  amend 
the  Toleration- Act,  so  as  to  bring  it  nearer  to  his 
own  wishes,  had  yet  the  pleasure  to  find  that  it  had 
at  least  become  so  popular,  except  among  some  of 
the  Clergy,  that  it  was  likely  to  maintain  its  ground. 
Finding,  therefore,  that  he  must  be  satisfied  with  it 
as  it  then  stood,  and  being  at  the  same  time  thank- 
ful to  Divine  Providence  for  what  had  been  so  far 
obtained,  he  resolved  to  embark  for  Pennsylvania  in 
the  course  of  the  present  year. 

About  this  time  he  wrote  to  a  Friend  on  the  fol- 
lowing occasion.  He  himself  had  been  in  the  habit 
of  writing  letters  to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who 
\yas  then  deceased.     His  friend  had  fallen  in  with 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN%  43 

some  of  these,  and  was  then  collecting  them,  with 
a  view  of  preventing  them  from  passing  into  impro- 
per hands  ;  for  he  supposed,  probably,  that  they 
might  contain  political  matter ;  and  as  William  Penn 
was  then  daily  watched  by  the  new  Government  as 
a  person  suspected  to  be  hostile  to  it,  there  might  be 
expressions  in  them,  which  might  be  so  tv/isted  and 
misinterpreted,  if  his  enemies  should  see  them,  as 
to  afford  a  handle  for  putting  him  to  trouble.  The 
letter  then,  written  by  William  Penn,  was  a  letter  of 
thanks  to  his  friend  for  the  service  intended  him, 
and  ran  thus : 

"  Though  nothing  of  an  interest  of  my  own  was 
the  reason  of  the  ancient  esteem  I  have  had  for  thee, 
yet  that  only  is  the  motive  at  this  time  to  this  free- 
dom ;  for  being  informed  by  Jer.  Grimshaw,  that 
some  of  my  letters  to  the  late  Duke  of  Buckingham 
are  in  thy  hands,  and  that  thy  wonted  kindness  to  all 
of  our  communion  had  shown  itself  in  my  regard  by 
collecting  them  apart,  to  prevent  their  falling  under 
any  improper  notice,  I  thought  m\  self  obliged  both 
to  return  my  acknowledgments  for  that  friendly  cau- 
tion, and  to  desire  thee  to  let  them  follow^  him  they 
were  written  to,  who  can  be  no  more  know  n  to  the 
living.  Poor  gentleman  !  I  need  not  trust  another 
hand  than  that,  which  w^as  unwilling  any  other  should 
be  trusted  with  them  but  my  own.  I  know  not  what 
the  circumstances  of  that  time  might  draw  from 
me  ;  but  my  only  business  with  him  ever  was  to 
make  his  superior  quality  and  sense  useful  to  this 
kingdomy  that  he  might  not  die  under  the  guilt  of 


44  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

mispend'ing  the  greatest  talents  that  were  among 
the  nobility  of  a?iy  country.  However,  in  the  rub- 
bish of  those  times  and  the  late  extraordinary  Revo- 
lution let  them  lie,  and  let  us  all  think  of  this  only 
way  to  the  peace  and  happiness  we  pretend  to  seek, 
namely,  to  give  God  his  due  out  of  us,  and  then  we 
shall  have  our  dues  out  of  one  another  ;  and  without 
i't  let  us  not  wonder  at  the  nimble  turns  of  the  world, 
nor  reflect  upon  the  mischiefs  that  attend  them. 
They  are  the  natural  effects  of  our  breach  of  duty 
to  God,  and  will  ever  follow  it.  We,  like  the  Jews, 
are  full  of  jealousy,  humour,  and  complaint,  and 
seek  for  our  deliverance  in  the  wTong  place.  When 
we  grow  a  better  people,  we  shall  know  better  days ; 
and  when  we  have  cast  off  Satan's  yoke,  no  other 
can  hold  longer  upon  us.  Things  do  not  change. 
Causes  and  effects  are  ever  the  same ;  and  they  that 
seek  to  over-rule  the  eternal  order,  fight  with  the 
winds,  and  overthrow  themselves.  But  what  is  this 
to  my  subject  ?  I  close  with  the  true  sense  of  all  thy 
tenderness  to  our  poor  folks,  and  regards  to  myself, 
beseeching  God,  that  more  than  the  reward  of  him 
that  gives  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  the  name  of  a  Dis- 
ciple may  be  thy  portion,  when  this  very  trifling 
world  may  be  no  more. 

"  I  am  thy  affectionate,  true  Friend, 

"William  Penn.'^ 

Soon  after  the  writing  of  this  letter,  and  while  he 

was  turning  his  thoughts  towards  the  things  to  be 

done  preparatory  to  his  voyage,  he  was  arrested  by 

a  body  of  military,  and  brought  again  before  the 


€5    WILLIAM    PENN.  45 

Lords  of  the  Council.  The  charge  then  against  him 
was,  that  he  was  holding  a  traitorous  correspond- 
ence with  the  late  King,  who  was  then  in  France. 
Upon  this  he  desired  to  appeal  to  King  William  in 
person.  His  request  was  granted.  The  King  and 
Council  appeared  together.  A  letter  was  then  pro* 
duced,  which  had  been  written  to  him  by  James, 
and  which  had  been  intercepted  by  Government  on 
its  way,  in  which  he  (James)  ''  desired  him  (Penn) 
to  come  to  his  assistance,  and  to  express  to  him  the 
resentments  of  his  favour  and  benevolence."  The 
question  first  put  to  William  Penn  was,  why  King 
Jame«  wrote  to  him  ?  He  answered,  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  prevent  the  King  from  writing 
to  him,  if  he,  the  King,  chose  it.  He  was  then  ques- 
tioned as  to  what  resentments  these  were,  which 
James  seemed  to  desire  of  him.  He  answered, 
"  he  knew  not ;  but  he  supposed  the  King  meant 
that  he  should  endeavour  his  Restoration.  Though, 
however,  he  could  not  avoid  the  suspicion  of  such 
an  attempt,  he  could  avoid  the  guilt  of  it.  He  con- 
fessed he  had  loved  King  James,  and,  as  he  had 
loved  him  in  his  prosperity,  he  could  not  hate  him 
in  his  adversity  ;  yes,  he  loved  him  yet  for  the  many 
favours  he  had  conferred  on  him,  though  he  could 
not  join  with  him  in  what  concerned  the  state  of  the 
kingdom.  He  owned  again,  that  he  had  been  much 
obliged  to  the  King,  and  that  he  was  willing  to  repay 
his  kindness  by  any  private  service  in  his  power ; 
but  that  he  must  observe  inviolably  and  entirely 
that  duty  to  the  State,  which  belonged  to  all  the 


46  :memoirs  of  the  life 

subjects  of  it ;  and  therefore  that  he  had  never  had 
the  wickedness  even  to  think  of  endeavouring  to  re- 
store hitn  that  crown,  which  had  fallen  from  his 
head ;  so  that  nothing  in  that  Iv^tter  could  in  any 
wise  fix  guilt  upon  him."  This  defence,  which  was 
at  once  manly,  open,  and  explicit,  had  its  weight 
with  the  King,  so  that  he  felt  himself  inclined  to  dis- 
miss him  as  an  innocent  person ;  but  some  of  the 
Council  interfering,  he,  to  please  them,  ordered  him 
to  give  bail  to  appear  at  the  next  Trinity  Term, 
After  this  he  was  permitted  to  withdraw,  and  to  go 
at  large  as  before. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that,  in  a  sitting  which 
occupied  two  hours,  many  more  questions  v/ere  put 
to,  and  of  course  answers  given  by,  William  Penn,^?S^ 
than  those  which  have  been  now  communicated  ; 
but  these  are  all  that  have  come  down  to  us,  and  but 
for  Gerard  Croese  they  might  have  remained  as  if 
they  had  never  been.  That  his  account,  as  now- •*' 
given,  is  generally  true  is  highly  credible;  for  the 
editors  of  that  splendid  work  g(^neraUy  termed  *•*■  Pi- 
cart's  Religious  Customs  and  Ceremonies  of  all 
Nations,"  speaking  of  William  Penn,  allade  to  the 
defence  which  he  made  on  this  occasion.  *"*•  This," 
say  they,  '*  was  confirmed  by  a  letter  King  James 
wrote  to  Penn  from  France  after  the  Revolution 
had  been  brought  about  by  King  William  the  Third. 
Penn  was  strictly  examined  concerning  this  corres- 
pondence. His  answer  rvas  noble^  generous^  and 
wise :  but  party-animosity  made  it  be  looked  upon, 
in  the  hurry  of  spirits  at  that  time,  as  a  barefaced 


ggjhA. 


OF    WILLIAM    P£NN.  47 

espousing  King  James's  cause.  And  most  Protest- 
ants%  chiefly  news  and  libel-writers,  thought  it  no 
less  a  crime  than  high  treason  to  profess  a  friend- 
ship for  that  Prince." 

William  Penn,  being  now  at  large  for  a  time,  was 
so  conscious  of  his  own  innocence,  and  therefore  so 
fearless  of  the  consequences  of  his  approaching  trial, 
that  he  actually  employed  himself  in  preparing  for 
his  voyage  to  Pennsylvania.  At  the  time  appointed 
he  appeared  in  Court :  but  here,  as  before,  no  one 
coming  forward  as  evidence  against  him,  he  was 
honourably  discharged. 

Being  once  more  at  liberty,  he  returned  to  his 
home,  when  his  voyage  occupied  his  attention  again. 

t  this  time  the  country  was  in  great  consternation 
n  account  of  an  expected  invasion  by  the  French. 
TThe  French  fleet  had  already  beaten  the  English  in 
conjunction  with  the  Dutch,  and  was  then  hovering 
6ff*  the  coast.  King  William  too  was  in  Ireland. 
The  Queen  therefore  was  obliged  to  exert  herself 
in  defence  of  the  nation.  This  she  did  by  calling 
out  the  militia  and  in  other  ways  :  but  in  order  to 
strike  terror  at  this  moment  into  the  supposed  con- 
spirators with  France,  she  published  a  proclamation 
for  apprehending  Edward  Henry,  Earl  of  Lich- 
field ;  Thomas,  Earl  of  Avlesbury  ;  William,  Lord 
Montgomery;  Roger,  Earl  of  Castlemain ;  Rich- 
ard, Viscount  Preston  ;  Henry,  Lord  Bellasis  ;  Sir 


*  Picaift's  book  was  a  Roman  Catholic  publication,  printed  at 
Jaris,  and  afterwards  translated  into  the  English  language. 


48  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Edward  Hales  ;  Sir  Robert  Thorold  ;  Sir  Robert 
Hamilton  ;  Sir  Theophilus  Oglethorpe  ;  Colonel 
Edward  Sackvile  ;  Lieutenant  Colonel  William 
Richardson  ;  Major  Thomas  Soaper ;  Captain  Da- 
vid Lloyd;  Edmond  Elliott;  Marmaduke  Lang- 
dale  ;  Edward  Rutter  ;  and  William  Penn.  Here 
then  we  see  William  Penn  brought  into  trouble 
again ;  for  the  above  Proclamation  was  not  out  long, 
before  he  was  again  apprehended  and  sent  to  pri- 
son. He  was  obliged  to  lie  there  till  the  last  day  of 
Michaelmas  Term,  when  he  was  brought  \ip  before 
the  King's  Bench  Court,  Westminster,  for  trial. 
The  result  was  equally  honourable  as  in  the  former 
cases ;  for,  though  evidence  appeared,  it  failed  to 
prove  any  thing  against  him. 

William  Penn  began  now  to  think  that  there  was 
no  security  for  his  person  in  England.  No  sooner 
had  he  been  legally  and  honourably  acquitted  of  one 
charge,  than  he  was  arrested  upon  another.  Under 
these  circumstances  he  looked  to  his  departure  from 
England  both  with  anxiety  and  delight.  Having 
accomplished  in  a  great  degree  the  principal  object 
for  which  he  had  crossed  the  Atlantic,  he  longed 
now  with  the  most  earnest  longing  for  a  quiet  re- 
treat in  Pennsylvania.  He  used  accordingly  double 
diligence  for  that  purpose.  He  was  already  far  ad- 
vanced in  his  preparations  for  the  voyage.  The 
vessel  had  been  taken  up,  which  was  to  carry  him 
over.  Numbers  of  persons  also,  in  consequence  of 
certain  proposals,  which  he  had  published  this  sum- 
mer, for  a  new  settlement  in  Pennsylvania,  had 


OF   WILLlA]\f  PE51N.  49 

been  preparing  to  accompany  him,  some  in  his  own, 
and  others  in  other  vessels.  The  Secretary  of  State 
also  had  gone  so  far  as  to  appoint  him  a  convoj , 
which  was  to  be  ready  on  a  given  day. 

Just  at  this  time  George  Fox,  his  beloved  Friend, 
and  the  founder  of  the  religious  Society  of  the  Qua- 
kers, died  in  London.  It  fell  to  his  lot  to  commu- 
nicate this  event  to  his  wife,  who  was  then  in  Lan- 
cashire. His  letter  was  very  short.  "  I  am  to  be," 
says  he,  "  the  teller  to  thee  of  sorrowful  tidings  in 
some  respect,  which  is  this,  that  thy  dear  Husband, 
and  my  beloved  and  dear  Friend,  finished  his  glori- 
ous testimony  this  night  about  half  an  hour  after 
nine,  being  sensible  to  the  last  breath.  O,  he  is 
gone,  and  has  left  us  in  the  storm  that  is  over  our 
heads,  surely  in  great  mercy  to  him,  but  as  an  evi- 
dence to  us  of  sorrows  to  come  !"  In  alluding  to 
his  powers  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  he  says,  "  a 
Prince  indeed  is  fallen  in  Israel  to-day  j"  and  to  his 
irreproachable  life,  "  he  died,  as  he  lived,  a  lamb, 
minding  the  things  of  God  and  his  Church  to  the 
last,  in  an  universal  spirit."  After  this,  when  the 
time  came,  he  attended  his  remains  to  the  grave. 
Here  he  spoke  publicly,  and  for  a  considerable  time, 
to  about  two  thousand  persons  who  attended  the 
funeral ;  thus  paying  the  last  earthly  respect  in  his 
power  to  his  deceased  Friend,  and  thus  endeavour- 
ing to  make  even  his  death  useful  to  those  present. 

It  appeared  now,  as  if  he  hud  little  more  to  do  than 
to  take  leave  of  his  numerous  Friends,  and  to  em- 
bark.    But  alas,  how  short-lived  and  transitory  are 

VOL.  n.  F 


50  MEMOIRS    or    THE    LIFE 

sometimes  our  best  hopes !  In  an  instant  all  his 
happy  dreams,  all  his  expectations  came  to  nothing: 
for,  but  a  day  or  two  before  the  funeral  of  George 
Fox,  a  wretch  of  the  name  of  Fuller,  one  whom 
Parliament  afterward  had  occasion  to  declare  a 
cheat  and  impostor^ ^  had  come  forward  with  an  ac- 
cusation against  him  upon  oath,  so  that  messengers 
had  been  sent  to  the  very  funeral  itself  with  a  war- 
rant to  apprehend  him  ;  but,  mistaking  the  hour, 
they  arrived  too  late  for  their  purpose.  Thus  his 
voyage  was  entirely  stopped  for  the  present  year. 

Unable  now  to  leave  the  kingdom  with  honour^ 
the  vessels  proce<ided  without  him  to  Pennsylvania. 
He  WTOte  by  them  of  course  to  explain  the  causes 
ivhich  had  hindered  him  from  arriving  at  the  same 
time,  but  none  of  these  letters  have  been  preserved. 
One,  however,  is  forthcoming,  which  he  wrote  by  a 
subsequent  conveyance,  and  which  relates  to  the 
event  in  question.  ' "  By  this  time,"  says  he,  "  thou 
wilt  have  heard  of  my  troubles,  the  only  hinderance 
of  my  return,  being  in  the  midst  of  my  preparations 
with  a  great  company  of  adventurers  when  they 
came  upon  me. The  jealousies  of  some  and  un- 
worthy de;ilings  of  others  have  made  Vv^ay  for  them : 

*  The  House  resolved,  *'  That  William  Fuller  was  a  notorious 
impostor,  a  cheat,  and  a  false  accuser,  havmg  scandalized  the 
Magistrates  and  the  Government,  abused  this  House,  and  falsely 
accused  several  persons  of  honour  and  quality;"  and  they  re- 
solved on  an  Address  to  His  Majesty  to  command  his  Attorney- 
general  to  prosecute  the  said  impostor.  He  was  accordingly  pro- 
secuted, and  sentenced  to  the  pillory,  in  which  he  is  said  to  have 
stood  without  either  modesty  or  remorse. 


OF    WILLIAM   PENN.  51 

but  under  and  over  it  all  the  ancient  Rock  has  been 
my  shelter  and  comfort ;  and  I  hope  yet  to  see  your 
faces  with  our  ancient  satisfaction.  The  Lord 
grant  it,  if  it  be  for  his  glory,  whose  I  desire  to  be 
in  all  conditions  ;  for  this  world  passeth  away,  and 
the  beauty  of  it  fadeth :  but  there  are  eternal 
habitations  for  the  faithful,  among  whom  I  pray 
that  my  lot  may  be,  rather  than  among  the  Princes 
of  the  earth. 

''  I  desire  that  my  afflictions  may  cease,  if  not 
cure,  your  animosities  or  discontents  among  your- 
selves, if  yet  they  have  continued,  and  that  thou 
wilt,  both  in  Government  and  to  my  Commission- 
ers, yield  thy  assistance  all  thou  canst. — By  all 
this  God  may  prepare  me  to  be  better  for  future 
service,  even  to  you  there.  I  ask  the  people  for- 
giveness for  my  long  stay  ;  but  when  I  consider 
how  much  it  has  been  my  own  great  loss,  and  for  an 
ungrateful  generation,  it  is  punishment.  It  has 
been  twenty  thousand  pounds  damages  in  the 
country,  and  about  ten  thousand  pounds  here,  and 
to  the  Province  five  hundred  families.  But  the 
wise  God,  who  can  do  what  he  pleases  ^s  well  as 
see  what  is  in  man's  heart,  is  able  to  requite  all ; 
and  I  am  persuaded  all  yet  shall  work  together  for 
good  in  this  very  thing,  if  we  can  overlook  all  that 
stands  in  the  way  of  our  views  God-ward  in  public 

matters. See  that  all  be  done    prudently  and 

hdmbly,  and  keep  down  irreverence  and  looseness, 
and  cherish  industry  and  sobriety.     God  Almighty 


52V  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

be  with  you,  and  amongst  you,  to  his  praise,  and  to 
your  peace  !" 

William  Penn,  after  this  new  accusation  by 
Fuller,  determined  upon  retirement.  To  have 
gone  to  Pennsylvania,  merely  with  a  view  of 
making  his  escape,  would  have  been  useless,  for  he 
would  have  been  equally  amenable  there  to  British 
laws.  But  to  have  gone  there,  even  if  no  laws  could 
have  reached  him,  would  have  been  disgraceful.  It 
would  have  been,  while  such  an  accusation  hufjg 
over  his  head,  to  lose  his  reputation,  and  of  course 
his  influence  and  future  usefulness  in  his  own  Pro- 
vince. To  have  delivered  himself  up  voluntarily, 
on  the  other  hand,  into  the  hands  of  the  Magistracy, 
and  this  after  three  Trials,  in  all  which  he  had  been 
acquitted,  seemed  unnecessary,  and  to  answer  no 
public  end.  This  indeed  would  have  been  to  sacri- 
fice his  health  in  a  prison  ;  and  then,  after  a  fourth 
acquittal,  there  would  have  been  no  security  that 
some  profligate  wretch  would  not  have  accused  him 
again,  and  this  in  the  midst  of  expensive  prepara- 
tions for  another  voyage.  He  judged  it  therefore 
best  to  retreat  from  the  world  for  a  while.  By  this 
resolution  he  did  not  throw  himself  wantonly  in  the 
way  of  the  Government,  nor  did  he  endeavour  to 
fly  from  it.  If  those  in  the  Administration  chose 
to  press  another  Trial,  they  might  discover  where 
he  was,  or  they  might  seize  him  if  he  ventured 
abroad  ;  for  his  person  had  been  often  marked,  and 
was  generally  known.  It  was  his  belief,  too,  that 
innocent  men,  who  offered  up  their  prayers  to  the 


OF  WILLIAM  PENN.  53 

Almighty,  were  usually  directed  for  the  best,  and 
that  it  became  hiai  therefore  to  remain  in  England, 
and,  shutting  himself  up  from  the  affairs  of  the 
world,  to  wait  humbly  for  guidance  as  to  his  future 
path.  Accordingly  he  took  a  private  lodging  in 
London,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  study  and  re- 
ligious exercises,  and  where  he  was  occasionally  vi- 
sited by  a  few  friends. 

The  absence  of  William  Penn  began  now  to  be 
seriously  felt  in  the  Province ;  for  about  this  time 
the  symptoms  of  disorder  appeared,  which  after- 
wards greatly  disturbed  it,  and  which,  it  is  suppos- 
ed,  had  he  resided  there,  never  would  have  taken 
root  at  all ;  because  the  open,  candid,  and  impartial 
way  in  which  he  conducted  the  Government  gave 
no  opportunities  for  jealousies  or  suspicions  ;  and 
because  his  temperate  and  conciliating  manners, 
and  his  readiness  to  hear  and  redress  grievances, 
and  his  power  so  to  do,  healed  them  when  pro- 
duced. Among  these  symptoms,  it  appeared  as  if 
the  jSeople  of  the  Territories  wished  to  have  sepa- 
rate interests  from  those  of  the  Province.— — Wil- 
liam Penn  had  by  Charter  connected  both  of  them 
in  Legislation  and  Government,  and  had  consider- 
ed them  as  one  people.  He  had  of  course  given 
them  equal  privileges,  and  a  share  in  the  Govern- 
ment in  proportion  to  their  respective  populations. 
But  yet  dissatisfaction  began  to  creep  in.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  Territories,  conceiving  that  public 
appointments  ought  to  be  more  evenly  distributed^ 
as  it  respected  them,  than  they  appeared  to  be. 
F2 


j4  memoirs  of  the  life 

began  to  think  that  there  ought  to  be  separate  Es- 
tablishments for  the  said  Territories  and  Province  ; 
that  is,  one  set  of  civil  Officers  for  the  one,  and  a 
distinct  set  for  the  other,  to  be  chosen  by  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  each  in  Council.  The  first  conse- 
quence of  this  notion  was  the  following.  William 
Clark,  Luke  Watson,  Griffith  Jones,  John  Brink- 
loe,  John  Cann,  and  Johannes  d'Haes,  six  of  the 
Council  belonging  to  the  Territories,  met  in  the 
Council-room  privately  and  without  any  official 
summons,  and,  considering  themselves  as  a  legal 
Council,  issued  forth  Commissions  for  constituting 
Provincial  Judges  and  other  Officers.  Such  an  act, 
it  must  be  obvious,  would  give  rise  to  disturbances: 
for  the  Officers  who  were  appointed  by  them  would 
not  like  to  give  up  their  places ;  and,  the  electioa 
itself  being  void,  it  was  not  probable  that  they 
would  be  continued.  Hence  the  real  and  pretend- 
ed electors  would  divide  into  two  parties,  each  hav- 
ing its  partisans.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to 
come  to  some  determination  on  this  point,  and  ac- 
cordingly a  Council  was  legally  summoned  for  the 
purpose.  This  Council  decreed,  after  exposing  the 
absurdity  of  the  proceedings  in  question,  "  That 
all  Entries,  Orders,  and  Commissions,  made  and 
given  forth  by  the  above  six  Members,  were  deem- 
ed null  and  void  from  that  day ;  of  which  all 
Magistrates,  Officers,  and  others  concerned,  were 
to  take  due  notice."  Thus  the  matter  was  settled 
for  the  present  year. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENK.  55 


CHAPTER  IV. 


A,  1691 — continues  in  retirement^-^new  Proclama- 
tion for  his  apprehension-^hecomes  more  unpopu- 
lar than  ever^^falls  under  the  censure  of  some  of 
his  own  Society — writes  in  consequence  a  general 
letter  to  the  members  of  it — is  visited  in  his  retire- 
ment-^ Message  sent  to  him  there  by  John  Locke 
—writes  a  preface  to  Barclay'* s  Apology — affairs 
of  Pennsyhania, 

William  Penn  had  been  but  little  more  than 
six  weeks  in  his  retirement,  when  another  Procla- 
mation came  out  for  the  apprehension  of  him,  and 
of  Dr.  Turner,  Bishop  of  Ely,  and  of  James  Gra- 
hame.  This  Proclamation  was  in  consequence  of 
the  accusation  of  Fuller.  It  v/as  founded  on  the 
charge,  that  he  and  the  two  just  mentioned  had 
been  accomplices  in  a  conspiracy  with  the  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  the  Viscount  Preston,  and  two  others  of 
the  names  of  Elliott  and  Ashton,  (the  latter  of  whom 
had  been  executed  in  consequence  only  a  month  be- 
fore,) to  send  intelligence  to,  and  to  invite  over  to 
England,  James  the  Second,  who  was  then  in  France. 
The  clamour  now  was  greater  than  ever  against  him. 
He  was  loaded  with  reproaches  from  almost  all 
quarters.  All  those  who  disliked  him,  and  there 
were  too  many  of  this  description,  took  this  new  op- 


56  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

portunity  of  reviling  him.  In  the  first  place,  those 
of  the  Church  of  England,  except  Dr.  Tillotson  and 
a  very  few  other  liberal  individuals,  hated  him  with 
an  implacable  hatred,  because  he  had  taken  up  the 
cause  of  the  Dissenters.  Hence  Papist^  Jesuit^ 
Rogue,  and  Traitor,  resounded  where  they  went. 
In  the  second  place,  the  Dissenters  hated  him  be- 
cause they  supposed  that,  under  the  mask  of  reli- 
gious liberty,  he  had  been  promoting  the  schemes  of 
James  in  behalf  of  popery  and  arbitrary  power. 
They  propagated  therefore  the  same  epithets  with 
the  same  industry  and  virulence.  Thirdly,  there 
was  at  this  time  a  numerous  class  of  foreign  Protes- 
tants in  the  kingdom,  namely,  those  who  had  fled 
from  France  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantz.  All  these  joined  also  in  the  cry  of  his  con- 
demnation. They  had  themselves  smarted  under 
the  lash  of  Popery,  and  had  therefore  no  mercy 
upon  the  man  who  would  restore  James,  and  thus 
revive  it  in  the  land  which  was  to  be  now  the  land 
of  their  habitation.  Add  to  this,  that  he  began  to 
fall  under  the  censure  of  many  of  his  own  religious 
Society.  This  grieved  him  more  than  all.  He  had 
borne  up  against  the  opprobrium  of  the  world,  and 
had  made  no  attempt  to  counteract  it:  but  he  could 
no  longer  be  silent  under  this  new  wound  ;  and 
therefore  he  addressed  to  the  members  at  large, 
through  their  Representatives  met  in  their  Annual 
Assembly,  the  following  letter  : 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN* 


"  My  beloved,  dear,  and  honoured  Brethren, 

"  My  unchangeable  love  salutes  you ;  and  though 
I  am  absent  from  you,  yet  I  feel  the  sweet  and  low- 
ly life  of  your  heavenly  fellowship,  by  which  I  am 
with  you,  and  a  partaker  amongst  you,  whom  I  have 
loved  above  my  chiefest  joy.  Receive  no  evil  sur- 
misings,  neither  suffer  hard  thoughts,  through  the 
insinuations  of  any,  to  enter  your  minds  against  me, 
your  afflicted  but  not  forsaken  Friend  and  Brother. 
My  enemies  are  yours  ;  and,  in  the  ground,  mine 
for  your  sake  :  and  that  God  seeth  in  secret,  and 
will  one  day  reward  openly.  My  privacy  is  not  be- 
cause men  have  sworn  truly,  but  falsely,  against 
me  ;  *  for  wicked  men  have  laid  in  wait  for  me,  and 
false  witnesses  have  laid  to  my  charge  things  I  knew 
not,'  who  have  never  sought  myself,  but  the  good  of 
all,  through  great  enemies,  and  have  done  some 
good,  and  would  have  done  more,  and  hurt  no  man ; 
but  always  desired  that  Truth  and  Righteousness, 
Mercy  and  Peace,  might  take  place  amongst  us. 
Feel  me  near  you,  my  dear  and  beloved  Brethren, 
and  leave  me  not,  neither  forsake  me,  but  wrestle 
with  him  that  is  able  to  prevail  against  the  cruel  de- 
sires of  some,  that  we  may  yet  meet  in  the  congre- 
gation of  his  people,  as  in  days  past,  to  our  mutual 
comfort.  The  everlasting  God  of  his  chosen,  in  all 
generations,  be  in  the  midst  of  you,  and  crown 
your  most  solemn  Assemblies  with  his  blessed  pre- 
sence !  that  his  tender,  meek,  lowly,  and  heavenly 
Love  and  Life  may  flow  among  you,  and  that  he 
would  please  to  make  it  a  seasoning  and  fruitful  op- 


S8  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

portunity  to  you,  desiring  to  be  remembered  of  you 
before  him,  in  the  nearest  and  freshest  accesses, 
who  cannot  forget  you  in  the  nearest  relation, 
"  Your  faithful  Friend  and  Brother, 

"  William  Penn." 

While  he  was  living  in  retirement  he  was  visited 
by  a  few  select  friends,  who  were  mostly  of  the 
same  religious  profession  with  himself.  These  ad- 
ministered to  him  consolation  in  their  turn.  There 
was  one  person,  however,  not  of  the  Society,  by 
whose  grateful  remembrance  of  him  at  this  afflict- 
ing season  he  was  peculiarly  gratified.  His  old 
friend  and  fellow  collegian,  John  Locke,  had  come 
home  in  the  fleet  which  had  brought  the  Prince  of 
Orange  to  England.  Finding  that  he  had  been  per- 
secuted in  the  manner  described,  he  desired  to  be 
the  instrument  of  jprocuring  a  pardon  for  him  from 
King  William.  It  may  be  remembered  that  Wil- 
liam Penn  had  made  a  similar  offer  to  Locke  when 
the  latter  was  in  banishment  at  the  Hague.  It  is 
remarkable  that  the  same  answers  followed  on  both 
occasions.  William  Penn  persisted  in  declaring 
that  he  had  never  been  guilty  of  the  crime  alleged 
against  him,  and  that  he  could  not  therefore  rest  sa- 
tisfied with  a  mode  of  liberation,  the  very  terms  of 
which  would  be  to  the  world  a  standing  monument 
of  his  guilt. 

After  this  we  hear  nothing  more  of  William  Penn 
for  the  remainder  of  the  year,  except  that  he  wrote  a 
Preface  to  the  Works  of  the  celebrated  Apologist, 
Robert  Barclay,  and  another  to  those  of  John  Burn- 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  59 

yeat,  an  eminent  minister  of  his  own  religious  Soci- 
ety, and  with  whom  he  had  been  in  habits  of  friend- 
ship for  many  years. 

As  for  his  aifairs  in  America,  they  bore  an  aspect 
worse  than  ever.  Though  the  Decree  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Council,  as  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter, 
had  been  carried  into  eflFect,  it  did  not  remove  the 
dissatisfaction  which  had  sprung  up  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Territories.  They  still  conceived 
they  had  not  their  share  of  public  appointments, 
and  therefore  they  requested  the  Council  to  propose 
a  Bill  to  the  Assembly,  to  enable  nine  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Territories,  or  any  six  of  them,  to  ap- 
point three  Judges,  and  also  all  other  Officers ;  and 
that  no  other  Judges  and  Officers  should  be  imposed 
upon  them  for  the  said  Territories  but  such  as  were 
so  chosen. 

This  proposal  was  transmitted  to  England  by 
Thomas  Lloyd.  William  Penn  was  much  hurt  on 
receiving  it.  Willing,  however,  to  show  the  people 
of  thi^  Territories  that  he  was  not  inattentive  to  their 
complaints,  he  proposed  to  the  Council,  which  con- 
sisted of  both  parties,  as  a  first  effort  at  conciliation, 
the  choice  of  any  of  the  three  Governments  of  which 
they  had  had  a  trial.  The  Executive  might  be  in- 
vested in  a  Council,  or  in  five  Commissioners,  or  in 
a  Deputy  Governor.  They  could  any  of  them  tell 
which  of  these  they  had  found  the  most  impartial  in 
the  distribution  of  public  places. 

On  the  publication  of  this  offer,  it  appeared  to  be 
the  wish  of  the  people  of  the  Province  that  a  Depu« 


60  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ty  Governor  should  exercise  the  power  in  question ; 
and  accordingly  without  delay  they  requested  that 
Thomas  Lloyd  might  be  appointed  to  the  office. 

'  But  no  sooner  was  this  request  made,  than  the 
members  for  the  Territories  protested  against  it. 
They  preferred,  they  said,  the  five  Commissioners; 
and  most  of  all  they  disliked  a  Deputy  Governor. 
They  gave  the  reasons  for  their  preference  ;  but  the 
true  one  was,  that,  if  a  Deputy  Governor  were  ap- 
pointed, they  would  be  burthened  in  part  with  the 
expense  of  his  support. 

As  soon  as  this  preference  was  understood, 
with  the  unworthy  motive  which  had  induced  it, 
Thomas  Lloyd  wTote  a  letter  to  the  members  for 
the  Territories,  and  sent  it  to  them  by  four  respect- 
able persons  to  Newcastle,  who  might  confer  with 
them  on  the  subject.  In  this  letter  he  warned  them 
against  the  effects  of  their  conduct  both  upon  the 
Province  and  Territories,  and  patriotically  promis- 
ed, on  his  part,  that  as  long  as  he  remained  in  the 
station  of  Deputy  Governor  he  would  not  burthen 
the  latter  with  the  charge  of  a  single  penny  for  him- 
self, nor  would  he  ever  accept  of  any  maintenance 
for  himself  from  them  at  any  future  time,  unless 
they  themselves  should  voluntarily  make  a  request 
to  him  for  that  purpose.  But  neither  letter  nor 
embassy  would  do ;  and  the  consequence  was,  that 
these  members,  regardless  of  the  confusion  to  which 
their  rashness  might  expose  the  country,  not  only 
ceased  to  attend   in  their  legislative  capacities,  but 

prevented  others  from  being  elected  in  their  places : 


OF  WILLIAM   PEHN*  61 

and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  they  were  supported 
in  these  their  proceedings  by  Colonel  Markham, 
the  relation  of  William  Penn, 

Thomas  Lloyd  was  now  acknowledged  as  Deputy 
Governor  by  the  Province,  and  acted  in  that  capa- 
city, though  he  was  not  acknowledged  as  such  by 
the  Territories.  When  this  was  reported  to  William 
Penn,  he  was  much  displeased.  He  was  displeased 
first  with  Thomas  Lloyd.  He  considered  his  ac- 
ceptance of  such  a  broken  Office,  of  such  an  half 
Government,  as  pregnant  with  mischief,  because 
likely  to  confirm  the  notion  of  a  division  of  interests 
between  the  Province  and  Territories,  as  before  de- 
scribed. His  displeasure,  however,  was  soon  re- 
moved ;  for  the  Council,  in  a  letter  to  him,  declared 
that  Thomas  Lloyd,  instead  of  being  a  gainer  by 
any  public  office  he  had  held,  had  considerably 
worsened  his  own  estate  thereby ;  so  that  self-inte- 
rest could  have  been  no  motive  with  him  for  accept- 
ing the  new  Commission.  They  said,  too,  that  he 
was  a  great  lover  and  promoter  of  concord,  that  he 
disliked  a  public  life,  and  that  he  never  would  have 
accepted  the  Commission  but  by  the  importunity  of 
his  friends  and  of  the  Province  itself.  William  Penn 
then  began  to  be  angry  with  the  Territory-men.  He 
could  not  help  blaming  them  for  their  ingratitude. 
They  had  considered  it  as  a  great  mercy  to  be  united 
to  the  Province,  and  now  they  wished  to  be  sepa^ 
rated  from  it,  though  tied  to  it  by  Charter.  He 
considered  their  movements  to  have  sprung  from 
no  other  source  than  that  of   ambition.     *'  This 

VOL.  II.  G 


62  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFK 

Striving,"  says  he  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  "  can  arise 
from  nothing  else ;  and  what  is  that  spirit,  which 
would  sooner  divide  the  child  than  let  things  run 
on  in  their  own  channel,  but  that  which  sacrifices  all 
bowels  to  wilfulness  ?  Had  they  learned  what  this 
means,  *  I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice,'  there 
had  been  no  breaches  nor  animosities  between  them, 

at  least  till  I  had  come." However,  it  was  not 

the  being  angry  with  the  one  or  with  the  other  that 
would  cure  dissentions  and  save  his  possessions. 
The  case  was  to  be  considered  impartially  and 
coolly,  with  a  view  to  the  best  remedy ;  and  dispatch 
was  necessary.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that,  after  mature 
deliberation,  he  concluded  it  to  be  best  to  confirm 
the  Deputy  Governorship  to  Thomas  Lloyd,  which 
would  please  the  Province,  and,  as  an  equivalent  on 
the  other  side,  to  appoint  Colonel  Markham  his 
Deputy  Governor  of  the  Territories :  and  accord- 
ingly he  sent  out  Commissions  for  that  purpose. 

Besides  the  schism  between  the  Province  and  the 
Territories,  another  of  a  different  nature,  a  religious 
one,  had  sprung  up.  One  George  Keith  was  the 
author  it.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  quick 
natural  parts  and  considerable  literary  attainments, 
fond  of  disputation,  acute  in  argument,  and  confi- 
dent and  overbearing  in  the  same.  He  had  been 
for  some  time  an  acknowledged  minister  among  the 
Quakers.  He  now  found  fault  with  the  discipline 
of  the  Society.  He  ridiculed  some  of  its  customs, 
and  certain  also  of  its  religious  tenets,  though  he 
liad  once  written  in  their  defence.     He  passed  con- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN»  63 

tempt  on  the  decisions  of  some  of  their  Meetings. 
Soon  after  this  he  founded  a  new  sect.  Those  who 
followed  him  he  called  Christian  Quakers,  and  all 
the  others  Apostates.  By  his  plausible  manner  and 
powerful  talent  of  speaking  he  had  drawn  so  many 
after  him  as  to  fill  one  Meeting-house.  Thus,  by 
dividing  the  Quakers,  he  added  two  parties  to  thpse 
which  political  differences  had  made  before. 


64  MEMOIRS    OF    THE   LIFE 


CHAPTER  V. 


A.  1692-^^ontinues  in  retirement — writes  "  Just 
Measures^'^ — general  contents  of  this  -work — also 
*'  A  Key'^'^  whereby  to  know  and  distinguish  the 
Religion  of  the  Quakers — general  contents  of  it — 
also  "  New  Athenians  no  noble  Berean^^^^affairs 
of  Pennsylvania* 

William  Penn  coatinued  in  retirement ;  and  it 
is  remarkable  that  he  was  never  disturbed  by  con- 
stable, magistrate,  or  any  other  officer  of  justice. 
His  friends  frequently  visited  him.  Among  other 
objects  which  interested  his  mind  during  this 
period,  he  was  particularly  anxious  to  promote  har- 
mony in  his  own  religious  Society,  and  to  defend  it 
from  the  attacks  of  its  enemies.  Disputes  concern- 
ing discipline  still  continued  among  the  members  of 
it ;  but  these  had  taken  a  new  turn.  There  were 
some,  for  example,  who  saw  no  reasons  why  there 
should  be  meetings  of  women  to  do  any  part  of  the 
business  of  the  Society  separate  from  the  men; 
William  Penn  therefore,  to  do  away  this  notion, 
argued  the  case  in  a  little  work,  to  which  he  gave 
the  following  title,  "  Just  Measures,  being  an 
Epistle  of  Peace  and  Love  to  such  Professors  of 
Truth  as  are  under  Dissatisfaction  about  the  Ordey 
practised  in  the  Church  of  Christ,*' 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  65 

He  lamented  in  this  work  that  they,  who  were 
one  in  faith  and  worship,  should  be  divided  as  to 
the  mere  management  of  the  Church.  Had  they 
been  divided  as  to  the  former  points,  this  w^ould 
have  been  a  serious  cause  of  difference,  because  the 
conscience  would  have  been  concerned  in  it.  But 
the  matters  in  dispute  had  no  such  relation.  They 
related  to  mere  modes  of  government  or  formality 
in  order,  but  not  to  the  essentials  of  religion.  At  the 
same  time  the  Discipline,  though  it  was  not  a  matter 
of  conscience,  embraced  a  care  which  had  a  wide 
range  of  operation  for  good.  It  was  the  business,  for 
example,  of  all  Churches  to  take  care  of  the  births, 
marriages,  and  funerals  of  their  members ;  to  look 
to  the  poor  and  necessitous,  the  young,  the  aged, 
and  infirm  among  them ;  and  particularly  to  those 
who  were  morally  weak  and  diseased;  so  that  by 
v/holesome  admonition  they  might  assist  in  curing 
the  latter,  as  well  as  in  trying  to  prevent  similar  dis- 
orders in  others.  Now  there  must  be  forms  of 
Discipline  or  Church- government,  or  the  care  o£ 
such  important  matters  could  not  be  carried  on. 
But  were  not  women  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  parts  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  as  well  as  men?  And,  if  they 
were  parts  of  this  Church,  ought  they  not  to  become 
helpers  in  the  Church's  business?  But,  besides,  it 
must  be  obvious  that,  when  women  came  under  the 
discipline  of  the  Society,  women  were  more  fit  to 
interfere  than  men,  that  is,  they  were  fitter  persons 
than  men  to  have  the  care  and  oversight  of  tlieii 
G2 


66  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

own  sex.  This  was  the  general  substance  of  his 
essay  on  this  subject. 

It  happened  at  this  time,  that  the  Quakers  be- 
gan to  be  attacked  by  some  of  other  religious  de- 
nominations as  to  their  doctrinal  creed,  after  a  long 
interval,  during  which  scarcely  any  one  had  dis- 
turbed them  on  this  account.  Many  began,  but 
particularly  among  the  Baptists  who  lived  at  Dept- 
ford,  to  misrepresent  their  principles  ;  that  is,  they 
gave  out  their  own  perversions  of  the  Quakers'  doc- 
trines, and  called  these  their  Creed.  These  perver- 
sions soon  came  to  the  knowledge  of  William  Penn, 
who,  after  having  diligently  collected  them,  brought 
out  a  publication  called  '^  A  Key,  opening  the  Way 
to  every  Capacity  how  to  distinguish  the  Religion 
professed  by  the  People  called  Quakers,  from  the 
Perversions  and  Misrepresentations  of  their  Adver- 
saries; with  a  brief  Exhortation  to  all  Sorts  of 
People  to  examine  their  Ways  and  their  Hearts, 
and  turn  speedily  to  the  Lord." 

The  way  in  which  he  managed  his  Key  was  this. 
First,  he  gave  out  the  general  head  of  the  doctrine 
which  had  been  misrepresented.  Under  this  head 
he  placed  the  proposition  or  propositions  as  they 
contained  the  doctrine  in  its  perverted  state.  Under 
this  again  he  gave  the  proposition  or  propositions  as 
they  contained  the  doctrine  as  it  was  received  by 
true  Quakers.  Upon  the  latter  he  then  reasoned, 
taking  care  to  show  the  difference  between  the  mean- 
ing of  the  two.  The  general  heads  of  the  doctrines 
were  these:'  "  The  light  within,  what  it  is^  and  the 


Of    WILLIAM    PENN.  67 

Virtue  and  Benefit  of  it  to  Man^ — Infallibility  and 
Perfection — The  Scriptures,  their  Truth,  Authority, 
and  Service — The  holy  Spirit  of  God,  and  its  Office 
with  respect  to  Man  and  the  Ministry — The  holy 
Three,  or  Scripture  Trinity — The  Divinity  of 
Christ — The  Manhood  of  Christ — Christ  Jesus,  his 
Death,  and  Sufferings — Good  Works — Water 
Baptism  and  the  Supper—The  Resurrection  and 
eternal  Recompence — Civil  Honour  and  Respect — 
Civil  Government.'^  The  propositions  under  these 
general  heads  were  drawn  up  with  great  conciseness, 
and  yet  with  remarkable  perspicuity.  The  pam- 
phlet indeed,  which  contained  them,  was  a  masterly 
performance,  and  reached  the  twelfth  edition  even 
in  the  lifetime  of  its  author. 

The  Quakers  were  attacked  also  in  a  periodical 
paper,  which  was  published  in  London  at  this  time, 
and  which  was  called  *'  The  Athenian  Mercury •" 
In  no  less  than  three  numbers  of  the  said  paper,  ob- 
jections were  raised  both  to  their  practice  and  doc- 
trines. They  were  called  persecutors  on  account 
of  their  discipline,  and  silly  enthusiasts  for  refusing 
a  civil  oath.  They  were  charged  with  speaking 
contemptibly  of  the  Scriptures,  of  denying  them  to 
be  the  word  of  God,  of  turning  them  into  allegories, 
of  rejecting  the  notion  of  a  Trinity,  also  the  notions 
of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  and  of  the  plenary 
satisfaction  of  Christ.  These  and  similar  charges 
appeared  in  the  same  paper.  William  Penn  thought 
it  right  to  answer  them.  This  he  did  in  a  work 
which  he  called  "  The  New  Athenians  no  noble 


68  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    LIFE 

Bereans,^'  though  in  his  ^'  Just  Measures"  and  in 
his  "  Key"  together  he  might  be  said  to  have  an- 
swered them  before. 

While  he  was  employed  in  these  works,  his  mind 
was  deeply  affected  by  a  circumstance  which  seemed 
to  point  to  an  issue  materially  connected  with  his 
domestic  happiness.  It  was  but  too  apparent  that 
the  health  of  his  wife  began  to  be  seriously  impair- 
ed ;  and  at  this  time  the  symptoms,  which  had  before 
shown  themselves,  had  broken  out  into  actual  sick- 
ness. Neither  the  disorder  itself,  nor  the  cause  of 
it,  has  been  handed  down  to  us.  It  is  certain,  how- 
ever, that  the  great  trials,  difficulties,  and  afflictions, 
under  which  her  husband  had  laboured  and  was 
then  labouring,  must  have  affected  her  mind;  and  it 
is  therefore  not  improbable,  that  this  affection  was 
the  original  cause  of  her  complaint. 

The  intelligence  which  was  sent  him  from  Ame- 
rica during  this  period,  was  both  pleasing  and  dis- 
tressing. In  the  first  place,  it  was  a  matter  of  no 
small  consolation  to  him  to  learn,  that  the  Commis- 
sions, which  he  had  sent  out  for  two  Deputy  Go- 
vernors, had  been  the  instruments  of  restoring  tran- 
quillity to  his  possessions  even  beyond  his  expecta- 
tions. The  people  of  the  Province  were  pleased 
with  his  confirmation  of  the  appointment  of  Thomas 
Lloyd,  because  the  latter  had  been  the  object  of 
their  own  choice:  and  those  of  the  Territories 
were  pleased  with  the  appointment  of  Markham: 
first,  because  he  had  espoused  their  cause;  and 
secondly,  because,  having  him  for  a  Deputy  Go- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN^  '69 

vernor,  they  had  their  own  separate  Council  also  j 
and  from  one  or  both  of  these  all  appointments  to 
civil  offices  would  be  made  out  of  themselves  for 
their  own  district.  The  Deputy  Governors  too 
acted  in  harmony,  so  that  they  agreed  to  write  a 
joint  letter  to  their  Governor,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  copy : 

*'  Worthy  Governor, 
"  These  few  lines,  we  hope,  may  much  ease  thy 
mind  in  reference  to  thy  exercises  concerning  the 
affairs  of  thy  Government  here,  by  informing  thee, 
that  with  unanimous  accord  we  rest  satisfied  with 
thy  two  Deputations  sent  for  the  Executive  Go- 
vernment of  the  Province  and  Territories  annexed. 
And  thy  Deputies  concurring  amicably  at  this 
time  to  act  as  one  general  Government  in  legis- 
lation, we  have  proceeded  in  preparing  jointly  some 
few  Bills,  that  thereby  our  present  united  actings 
may  be  as  well  published  as  the  respective  services 
of  the  Government  answered.  What  particular 
transactions  of  moment,  which  have  occurred  upon 
our  calm  debates  of  the  choice  of  Three,  we  refer  to 
the  Minutes  for  thy  satisfaction.  We  heartily  wish 
thee  well ;  and  with  longing  expectations  desire  thy 
speedy  return  to  us,  where,  we  doubt  not,  thou  wilt 
find  a  most  grateful  reception,  and  better  face  of 
affairs  than  may  seem  to  thee  there  at  this  distance. 
So  bidding  thee  adieu  at  this  time,  we  remain 

''  Thy  faithful  and  well-wishing  Friends, 
"  Thomas  Lloyd, 
"  William  Markham.'^. 


TO  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

With  respect  to  the  other  part  of  the  intelligence, 
it  appeared  that  Keith  had  increased  the  religious 
schism  before  mentioned.  He  had  drawn  off  with 
him  so  large  a  portion  of  persons,  as  to  have  set  up 
Meetings  in  divers  places.  He  had  however,  in 
consequence  of  these  proceedings,  been  excommu- 
nicated or  disowned  by  those  who  had  remained 
faithful  at  their  post.  Exasperated  at  this,  he  had 
made  himself  doubly  troublesome.  He  had  pro- 
ceeded to  vilify  the  Magistrates,  and  this  in  cases 
where,  if  they  had  not  acted  as  they  did,  they  would 
not  have  done  their  duty.  One  instance  of  this  will 
suffice.  A  man  of  the  name  of  Babit,  with  some 
others,  had  stolen  a  small  sloop  from  a  wharf  in  Phi- 
ladelphia, and  these,  in  going  down  the  river  with 
it,  had  committed  other  robberies.  Intelligence  of 
this  having  been  given  to  the  Magistrates,  three  of 
them  gave  out  a  warrant  in  the  nature  of  an  hue 
and  cry  to  take  them,  with  a  view  of  bringing  them 
to  punishment.  It  so  happened  that  the  men  were 
taken  and  brought  to  justice.  Now  as  the  Magis- 
trates who  granted  this  warrant  were  all  Quakers, 
Keith  had  gone  about  and  represented  their  conduct 
on  this  occasion  as  a  violation  of  their  religious 
principles ;  for  he  considered  the  apprehension  of 
the  offenders  as  a  species  of  war  against  their  per- 
sons ;  and  against  war  they,  the  Magistrates,  pre- 
tended to  bear  their  testimony  as  a  religious  people. 
From  one  thing  he  had  proceeded  to  another.  He 
had  published  virulent  books,  reflecting  upon  the 
Magistrates  in  other  respects,  endeavouring  there- 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  Tl 

by  to  degrade  them  in  the  eyes  of  their  inferiors. 
For  one  of  these  publications  he  had  been  pre- 
sented by  the  Grand  Jury  of  Philadelphia,  and  had 
afterwards  been  tried,  found  guilty,  and  fined.  Not- 
withstanding this,  he  was  still  following  the  same 
disorderly  career. 


T2  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A.  169 3f~^continues  in  retirement^-^is  deprived  of 
his-  Government  by  King  William — his  forlorn  si- 
tuation at  this  period — resohes  upon  returning  to 
Pennsylvania — letter  to  that  ej^ect — hut  is  pre- 
vented  by  embarrassed  circumstances^^writes 
"  Fruits  of  Solitude"^"* — preface  and  contents  of  the 
same — also  "  Essay  towards  the  Present  and  Fu- 
ture State  of  Europe^'^ — analysis  of  the  latter — 
letter  to  N.  Blandford — is  heard  before  King  Wil- 
liam and  his  Council^  and  acquitted — death  of  his 
wife — her  character — affairs  of  Pennsylvania. 

The  intelligence  which  William  Penn  had  re- 
ceived last  from  America,  as  it  related  to  Keith, 
gave  him,  on  the  very  first  perusal  of  it,  the  most 
serious  uneasiness,  not  only  because  the  conduct  of 
the  latter  tended  to  spread  still  wider  the  seeds  of 
confusion  in  the  Province  and  Territories,  but  be- 
cause he  foresaw,  as  several  of  his  letters  at  the 
time  testify,  those  unhappy  consequences  which 
very  soon  afterwards  resulted  to  himself.  They 
who  were  at  the  head  of  affairs  in  England,  were  no 
strangers  to  the  disorders  which  had  taken  place  in 
his  Government  during  the  last  two  years  ;  and,  as 
he  himself  had  become  obnoxious  to  them,  they  had 
taken  care  already  to  make  the  most  of  them  to  the 
King.     They  had  already  held  up  to  him  the  quar- 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  73 

i:els  between  the  Province  and  Territories,  as  argu- 
ments to  prove  that  he,  William  Penn,  was  incapa- 
ble of  governing  the  new  country  which  had  been 
granted  to  him.  As  soon  therefore  as  the  schism 
of  Keith  with  all  its  ramifications  and  consequences 
became  known,  they  considered  their  arguments  as 
confirmed.  Hence  they  spread  reports  of  it,  but 
particularly  of  his  trial  and  punishment  by  fine, 
throughout  the  kingdom.  By  the  pains  taken  to 
communicate  the  latter,  they  occasioned  a  great 
sensation  both  in  Westminster-hall  and  in  the  two 
Houses  of  Parliament.  They  soon  afterwards  af» 
firmed,  that  Pennsylvania  was  in  a  state  of  ruin, 
and  that  nothing  could  save  it  but  taking  away  the 
Government  from  William  Penn.  Not  a  moment, 
they  said,  was  to  be  lost  in  resorting  to  this  expedi- 
ent ;  and  so  rapidly  was  this  notion  disseminated, 
and  industriously  impressed  upon  the  King  and 
Queen,  that  by  a  Commission  granted  by  William 
and  Mary  to  Colonel  Fletcher,  the  Governor  of 
New  York,  to  take  upon  him  the  Government  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Territories  thereunto  annex- 
ed, William  Penn  was,  very  soon  after  the  news 
had  arrived,  deprived  of  all  authority  over  th^ 
same^ — and  this  before  he  had  time  to  explain  him- 
self on  the  subject,  or  to  throw  in  any  reasons  in  bar 
of  the  appointment  which  had  taken  place. 

One  may  more  readily  conceive  than  describe  the 
feelings  which  must  have  sprung  up  in  his  mind, 
when  the  news  of  this  cruel  measure  Ivas  conveyed 
to  him.     All  his  hopes  and  prospects  of  giving  to 

VOL.  11.  H 


74  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LITE 

the  world  a  pattern,  as  he  had  imagined,  of  a  more 
perfect  Government  and  of  a  more  viituous  and 

happy   People,  were    now    over. His    fortune 

might  now  be  considered,  not  as  having  been  pru- 
dently and  benevolently  expended  in  America,  but 
as  having  been  absolutely  thrown  away.— Re- 
moved from  the  high  situation  of  a  Governor  of  a 
province,  he  was  now  a  persecuted  exile. Dash- 
ed down  from  the  pinnacle  as  it  v/ere  of  eminence 
and  of  favour  in  his  native  country,  he  was  now 

living  between  privacy  and  a  gaol. Keith,  from 

having  been  once  his  confidential  friend,  had  be- 
come now  a  traitor. His  wife,  who  was  on  the 

bed  of  sickness,  and  in  a  state  of  visible  decline, 
brought  on  no  doubt  by  a  deep  feeling  for  his  mis- 
fortunes, was  now  subjected  to  the  weight  of  a  ten- 
fold trial  from  the  same  cause. Add  to  this,  that 

his  name  had  become  a  name  of  public  reproach. 
Individuals  even  of  his  own  religious  Society,  as  I 
mentioned  in  the  former  chapter,  had  deserted  him  ; 
but  now,  to  aggravate  the  case,  he  had  fallen  in  the 
esteem  of  a  considerable  number  of  those  who  be- 
longed to  it^.     He  had  fallen  in  the  esteem  of  those 

*  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  this  fact :  not  that  the  Quakers 
ever  considered  him  as  a  Papist,  or  as  guilty  of  the  charge 
brought  against  him  by  Fuller,  as  contained  in  the  last  Proclama- 
tion, but  that  he  had  meddled  more  ivkh  politics,  or  with  the  con- 
cerns  of  the  Governme?it^  than  became  a  member  of  their  Christian 
body,  -iu^ugh  they  allowed  that  he  took  such  a  part  often  out  of 
pur  benevolence  to  others  i  have  a  memorandum  to  this  effect, 
left  by  Thomas  Lower  in  his  own  hand  writing,  dated  at  the 
latter  end  of  the  present  year,  which  is  as  follows  : 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  75 

whom  he  ''  had  loved  above  his  chiefest  joy."  He 
had  become  therefore  a  sort  of  outcast  of  society. 
It  seemed  indeed  as  if  the  measure  of  his  affliction 
was  now  full.  But,  happily  for  him.  he  found  re- 
sources equal  to  the  pressure  which  bore  upon  him* 
Had  he  been  a  mere  earthly-minded  man,  all  had 
been  wretchedness  and  despair.  We  know  not  to 
what  lengths  a  situation  so  desperate  might  have 
driven  him.  But  he  still  kept  his  reliance  on  the 
great  Rock  which  had  supported  him.  He  knew 
that  human  life  was  full  of  vicissitudes  ;  but  he  be- 
lieved that  they  who  submitted  with  patience  and 
resignation  to  the  divine  will  would  not  be  ultimate- 
ly forsaken,  and  that  to  such  even  calamities  work- 
ed together  for  their  good. 

** Underwritten  is  what  was  upon  my  mind  to  offer,  and  which 
I  have  since  offered  to  William  Penn  as  an  expedient ^br  a  recon- 
ciliation bct'i:ixt  him  and  Friends. 

♦*  First,  for  William  Penn  to  write  a  tender,  reconciling  epistle 
to  all  Friends  as  in  the  love  and  wisdom  of  God  it  shall  be  open- 
ed unto  him,  and  in  the  closure  thereof  to  insert  as  followeth,  or 
to  the  following  effect : 

**«Andif  in  any  things  during  these  late  revolutions  I  have 
concerned  myself  either  by  words  or  writings  (in  love,  pity,  or 
good-will  to  any  in  distress,)  further  than  consisted  with  Truth^s 
honour  or  the  Church's  peace,  I  am  sorry  for  it ;  and  the  Govern- 
ment having  passed  it  by,  I  desiice  it  may  be  by  You  also,  that  so 
We  may  be  all  kept  and  preserved  in  the  holy  tie  and  bond  of 
Love  and  Peace  t©  serve  God  and  his  Truth  in  our  generation  to 
the  honour  of  his  holy  Name,  which  will  render  Us  acceptable  to 
God,  and  more  precious  one  to  another ;  and  finally  bring  Us, 
Uirough  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  to  the  participation  of  the  im- 
mortal crown  which  is  prepared  for  all  that  continue  faithful  in 
well-doing  \mto  the  end.""' 


76  MtMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Having  lost  his  Government,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant questions  that  occurred  to  him  in  the  pre- 
sent year  was,  not  how  he  might  regain  it,  but  what 
it  became  him  to  do  that  the  Province  and  Territo- 
ries might  suffer  as  little  as  possible  by  the  change. 
A  new  Governor  had  already  been  appointed,  and 
this  a  mere  military  man,  who,  knowing  nothing  of 
his  plans,  might  introduce  a  system  which  would 
counteract,  if  not  sap  the  foundation  of,  his  ow^n, 
and  thus  prevent  all  the  good  he  had  expected  from 
the  latter.  It  appears  that,  after  having  considered 
the  subject,  he  determined  upon  going  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, though  it  is  evident  that  he  could  only  have 
gone  there  as  a  pri\^te  person.  He  knew,  however, 
that  even  in  this  capacity  he  could  be  useful  there. 
He  could  take  care,  for  instance,  by  being  on  the 
spot,  that  the  Constitution,  which  he  had  made  so 
many  sacrifices  to  settle,  should  not  be  infringed 
without  a  reasonable  complaint  or  protest  on  the 
part  of  himself  and  others.  He  sa)'s,  in  a  letter 
written  at  this  time  to  certain  Friends  in  Pennsyl- 
vania jointly,  that,  "  considering  how  things  then 
stood  and  might  stand  with  them,  it  was  necessary 
that  he  should  speedily  return."  But,  alas!  he  had 
become  so  embarrassed  in  his  circumstances,  that 
he  knew  not  how  to  get  over  to  them.  "His  ex- 
penses," he  said  in  the  same  letter,  "  had  been 
great  in  King  Jameses  time,  and  his  losses  great  in 
this  King's  time,  the  one  being  at  least  seven  thou- 
sand pounds,  and  the  other  above  four  thousand 
pounds,    together    with    four    hundred    and    fifty 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  /'/' 

pounds  a  year  totally  wasted  in  Ireland.  He  sug- 
gested therefore  to  his  Friends  to  find  out  a  hun- 
dred persons  in  the  Province  who  would  each  of 
them  lend  him  one  hundred  pounds,  free  of  interest, 
for  four  years.  He  would  give  them  his  bond  for 
the  loan.  The  money,  if  raised  then,  would  be  ten 
times  more  to  him  than  the  same  sum  at  any  other 
time,  and  he  would  never  forget  the  kindness  of 
those  who  should  lend  it.  In  this  case  he  would 
bring  his  wife  and  family  over  with  him."  It  ap- 
pears, by  this  letter,  as  if  he  could  have  obtained 
permission  for  the  voyage.  King  William,  indeed, 
had  often  expressed  a  regard  for  him ;  but  the  King 
could  not  always  resist  the  opinion  of  his  Ministers, 
or  of  those  who  frequented  his  Court. 

As  he  was  to  continue  in  his  retirement,  at  least 
till  an  answer  came  to  this  letter,  he  had  no  other 
way  of  benefiting  mankind  in  the  interim  than  by 
his  writings.  He  undertook  for  this  purpose  a  little 
work,  which  was  to  consist  of  the  result  of  his  own 
experience  on  many  important  subjects.  He  had 
seen  much  of  life.  He  had  travelled  in  his  own 
country  and  in  Ireland.  He  had  visited  France, 
Holland,  and  Germany.  He  had  lived  in  America, 
then  reputed  a  new  quarter  of  the  globe.  He  had 
surveyed  therefore  men  under  different  tongues, 
colours,  climates,  manners,  religions,  and  govern- 
ments. He  had  himself  experienced  prosperity  and 
adversity.  In  the  course  therefore  of  his  chequer- 
ed experience  he  had  found  out,  he  believed,  what 
was  wisdom  and  what  was  folly,  what  would  turn  to 
H2 


78  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

solid  enjoyment,  and  what  to  vexation  of  spirit. 
He  determined  therefore  to  put  down  in  his  retire- 
ment such  Maxims  on  different  subjects  as  he 
thought  he  could  warrant  as  substantial,  and,  when, 
thus  collected,  to  publish  them.  I'his  book  he  ac- 
cordingly completed  after  no  small  labour,  and 
brought  it  out  under  the  tide  of  "  Some  Fruits  of 
Solitude,  in  Reflections  and  Maxims  relating  to  the 
Conduct  of  human  Life."  The  preface  to  it,  which 
is  both  lively  and  instructive,  will  give  the  reader 
some  notion  of  its  value. 

"  The  Enchiridion,  Reader,  I  now  present  thee 
with,  is  the  fruit  of  Solitude,  a  school  few  care  to 
Ijearn  in,  though  none  instructs  us  better.  Some 
parts  of  it  are  the  result  of  serious  reflection,  others 
the  flashing  of  lucid  intervals,  written  for  private 
satisfaction,  and  now  published  for  an  help  to 
human  conduct. 

"  The  author  blesseth  God  for  his  retirement, 
and  kisses  that  gentle  hand  which  led  him  into  it ; 
for,  though  it  should  prove  barren  to  the  world,  it 
can  never  do  so  to  him. 

"  He  has  now  had  some  time  he  could  call  his 
own,  a  property  he  was  never  so  much  master  of 
before,  in  which  he  has  taken  a  view  of  himself  and 
the  world,  and  observed  wherein  he  has  hit  or 
missed  the  mark ;  what  might  have  been  done  i 
what  mended  and  what  avoided  in  human  conduct ; 
together  with  the  omissions  and  excesses  of  others, 
as  well  societies  and  governments  as  private  fami- 
lies and  personsr    And  he  verily  thinks,  were  he  to 


OF    WILLIAM    PExVN.  79  . 

live  over  his  life  again,  he  could  not  only  with  God's 
grace  serve  him,  but  his  neighbour  and  himself,  bet- 
ter than  he  hath  done,  and  have  seven  years  of  his 
time  to  spare.  And  yet  perhaps  he  hath  not  been 
the  worst  or  the  idlest  man  in  the  world,  nor  is  he 
the  oldest.  And  this  is  the  rather  said,  that  it  might 
quicken  thee,  Reader,  to  lose  none  of  the  time  that 
is  yet  thine. 

"  There  is  nothing  of  which  we  are  apt  to  be  so 
lavish  as  of  time,  and  about  which  we  ought  to  be 
more  solicitous,  since  without  it  we  can  do  nothing 
in  the  world.  Time  is  what  we  want  most,  but 
what,  alas,  we  use  worst,  and  for  which  God  will 
certainly  most  strictly  reckon  with  us  when  time 
shall  be  no  more  !  It  is  of  that  moment  to  us  in  re- 
ference to  both  worlds,  that  I  can  hardly  wish  any 
man  better  than  that  he  would  seriously  consider 
what  he  does  with  his  time  ;  how  and  to  what  ends 
he  employs  it ;  and  what  returns  he  makes  to  God, 
his  neighbour,  and  himself,  for  it.  Will  he  never 
have  a  ledger  for  this  ?  for  this,  the  greatest  wisdom 
and  work  of  life  ?  To  come  but  once  into  the  world, 
and  trifle  away  our  true  enjoyment  of  it,  and  of  our- 
selves in  it,  is  lamentable  indeed.  This  one  reflec- 
tion would  yield  a  thinking  person  great  instruc- 
tion ;  and,  since  nothing  below  man  can  so  think, 
man,  in  being  thoughtless,  must  needs  fall  below 
himself ;  and  that,  to  be  sure,  such  do  as  are  uncon- 
cerned in  the  use  of  their  most  precious  time.  This 
is  but  too  evident,  if  we  will  allow  ourselves  to  con- 
sider that  there  is  hardly  any  thing  we  t^e  by  the 


80  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

right  end,  or  improve  to  its  just  advantage.  We 
understand  little  of  the  works  of  God  either  in  na- 
ture or  grace.  We  pursue  false  knowledge,  and 
mistake  education  extremely.  We  are  violent  in 
our  affections,  and  confused  and  immethodical  in 
our  whole  life,  making  that  a  burthen  which  was 
given  as  a  blessing,  and  so  of  little  comfort  to  our- 
selves or  others,  misapprehending  the  true  notion  of 
happiness,  and  so  missing  of  the  right  use  of  life  and 
way  of  happy  living:  and  till  we  are  persuaded  to 
stop,  and  step  a  little  aside  out  of  the  noisy  crowd 
and  incumbering  hurry  of  the  world,  and  calmly 
take  a  prospect  of  things,  it  will  be  impossible  we 
should  be  able  to  make  a  right  judgment  of  our- 
selv^es,  or  know  our  own  misery.  But  after  we  have 
made  the  just  reckonings,  which  retirement  will 
help  us  to,  we  shall  begin  to  think  the  world  in  great 
measure  mad,  and  that  we  have  been  in  a  sort  of 
Bedlam  all  this  while.  Reader!  whether  young  or 
old,  think  it  not  too  soon  or  too  late  to  turn  over  the 
leaves  of  thy  past  life,  and  be  sure  to  fold  down 
where  any  passage  of  it  may  affect  thee  ;  and  bestow 
the  remainder  of  thy  time  to  correct  those  faults  in 
thy  future  conduct !  Be  it  in  relation  to  this  or  the 
next  life,  what  thou  wouldst  do,  if  what  thou  hast 
done  were  to  do  again,  be  sure  to  do  as  long  as  thou 
livest  upon  the  like  occasions.  Our  resolutions 
seem  to  be  vigorous,  as  often  as  we  reflect  upon  our 
past  errors ;  but,  alas,  they  are  apt  to  grow  flat  again 
upon  fresh  temptations  to  the  same  things  !  The 
Author  does  not  pretend  to  deliver  thee  an  exact 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  81 

piece,  his  business  not  being  ostentation,  but  charity. 
It  is  miscellaneous  in  the  matter  of  it,  and  by  no 
means  artificial  in  the  composure.  But  it  contains 
hints  that  may  serve  thee  for  texts  to  preach  to  thy- 
self upon,  and  which  comprehend  much  of  the 
course  of  human  life  ;  since,  whether  thou  art  pa- 
rent or  child,  prince  or  subject,  master  or  servant, 
single  or  married,  public  or  private,  mean  or  ho- 
nourable, rich  or  poor,  prosperous  or  unprosperous, 
in  peace  or  controversy,  in  business  or  solitude, 
whatever  be  thy  inclinfition  or  aversion,  practice  or 
duty,  thou  wilt  find  something  not  unsuitably  said 
for  thy  direction  and  advantage.  Accept  and  im- 
prove what  deserves  thy  notice.  The  rest  excuse, 
and  place  to  account  of  good-will  to  thee  and  the 
whole  creation  of  God." 

This  was  the  Preface.  With  respect  to  the  Book 
itself,  I  am  sorry  I  have  no  room  for  extracts  from 
it.  I  must  therefore  satisfy  myself  with  laying  be- 
fore the  reader  the  bare  topics  on  which  he  gave  his 
Reflections  and  Maxims,  as  they  related  to  human 
life.  They  stand  in  the  work  in  the  following  or- 
der :  Ignorance  —  Education  —  Pride-— Luxury — 
Inconsideration — Disappointments  and  Resignation 
— Murmurings — Censoriousness — Bounds  of  Cha- 
rity— Frugality  and  Bounty — Discipline — Industry 
— Temperance — Apparel — Right  Marriage— Ava- 
rice— Friendship — Qualities  of  a  Friend — Caution 
and  Conduct — Reparation — Rules  of  Conversation 
— Eloquence — Temper — Truth — Justice — Secrecy 
— Complacency  —  Shifting  —  Inteicest  —  Inquiry — 


82  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Right  Timing — Knowledge — Wit — Obedience  to 
Parents  —  Bearing  —  Promising  —  Fidelity — Office 
of  Master — of  Servant — Jealousy — Posterity — a 
Country  Life — Art  and  Project — Temporal  Happi- 
ness— Respect — Hazard — Detraction — Moderation 
— Trick — Passion — Personal  Caution — Balance — 
Popularity  —  Privacy  —  Government  —  A  private 
Life — A  public  Life — Qualifications — Capacity — 
Clean  Hands— Dispatch — Patience — Impartiality 
—  IndifFerency  —  Neutrality — A  Party  —  Ostenta- 
tion— Complete  Virtue — Religion. 

Among  the  other  subjects  which  occupied  his  at- 
tention, at  this  time,  was  that  of  War.  He  was 
deeply  affected  by  the  miseries  it  occasioned ;  so 
that,  on  a  renewed  contemplation  of  these,  he  found 
his  mind  turned  as  it  were  to  the  consideration  how 
an  evil  so  monstrous  might  be  prevented.  A  plan 
for  this  purpose  gradually  unfolded  itself,  built  upon 
a  hint  suggested  by  another,  which  he  communica- 
ted in  a  work  (the  next  fruit  of  his  solitude)  called 
"  An  Essay  towards  the  present  and  future  Peace 
of  Europe,"  a  short  analysis  of  which  I  feel  it  a  duty 
to  present  to  the  reader. 

In  the  four  first  sections  he  laid  it  down,  that 
Peace  was  a  thing  most  desirable ;  that  Peace  was 
promoted  more  by  Justice  ihdiVi  by  War;  and  that 
Justice  was  as  much  the  natural  and  expected  result 
of  Government,  as  Government  itself  was  the  natu- 
ral and  expected  result  of  Society.  He  then  pro- 
posed his  Plan  for  the  great  object  contained  in  the 
title  of  his  Essay.     He  was  of  opinion,  that  as  Go- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  ^  85 

vernments  held  their  Parliaments, Sessions,  and  As- 
sizes, at  home,  to  over-rule  man's  passions  and  re- 
sentments, so  that  they  who  had  been  injured  by 
these  might  obtain  justice  at  home ;  so  he  saw  no 
reason  why  Princes  might  not,  by  a  mutual  concur- 
rence, establish  Assemblies  or  Diets  abroad,  to  over- 
rule the  same  bad  affections,  with  a  view  of  obtain- 
ing justice  in  their  disputes  with  one  another.  He 
suggested  therefore  the  idea  of  a  great  Diet  on  the 
Continent  for  this  purpose ;  that  is,  that  the  Princes 
of  Europe  would,  for  the  same  reason  which  first 
occasioned  men  to  enter  into  society,  namely.  Love 
of  Peace  and  Order,  establish  one  sovereign  Assem- 
bly, before  which  all  differences  between  them 
should  be  brought  which  could  not  be  terminated  by 
embassies,  and  the  judgment  of  which  should  be  so 
binding,  that,  if  any  one  Government  offering  its 
case  for  decision  did  not  abide  by  it,  the  rest  should 
compel  it.  Such  a  Diet  might  have  one  session  in 
the  year,  or  one  in  two  or  three  years,  or  as  often  as 
occasion  might  require. 

He  observed  in  the  fifth  section,  that  Peace  was 
usually  broken  upon  three  principles :  namely,  ei- 
ther to  keep,  or  to  recover,  or  to  add.  As  to  the 
principle  of  addition  or  aggrandizement,  this  the 
Diet  would  immediately  quash.  As  to  the  two 
former,  it  would  settle  them  by  a  cool  and  judicious 
discussion. 

In  the  sixth  section  he  referred  to  the  Titles 
upon  which  differences  might  arise  among  States. 
Title,  he  said,  was  either  by  long  and  undoubted 


84  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

succession,  as  in  England,  France,  and  other  parts  j 
or  by  election,  as  in  Poland  and  in  the  Empire  ;  or 
by  marriage,  as  when  the  family  of  the  Stuarts  came 
to  England  ;  or  by  purchase,  as  was  frequently  the 
case  in  Italy  and  Germany  ;  or  by  conquest,  as  by 
the  Turks  in  Christendom.  Now  the  last  title  only 
was  questionable ;  and  the  Diet  would  decide  this 
by  determining,  as  a  general  rule,  how  far  back  Ti- 
tles should  go  to  make  an  adopted  right. 

He  suggested  in  the  seventh  section,  that  every 
independent  Country  should  send  Delegates  to  this 
Diet  according  to  its  population,  revenue,  and  other 
public  marks.  If  Germany  were  to  send  twelve, 
France  ten,  and  others  in  their  due  proportion,  the 
whole  Diet  for  Europe  need  not  consist  of  more 
than  ninety  persons. 

To  avoid  quarrels  about  Precedency,  he  proposed 
in  the  eighth  section,  that  the  Delegates  should  pre- 
side by  turns,  or,  in  the  good  old  Venetian  way,  by 
secret  ballot.  All  complaints  should  be  delivered 
in  writing,  in  the  nature  of  Memorials.  They 
should  be  written  in  the  Latin  or  French  language. 
Nothing  should  pass  but  by  the  concurrence  of 
three-fourths  of  the  Delegates.  Journals  should  be 
kept  of  the  Proceedings  in  trunks,  which  should 
have  as  many  different  locks  as  there  were  sets  of 
Delegates. 

In  the  ninth  section  he  anticipated  and  answered 
objections  to  his  Plan.  In  the  tenth  he  showed  the 
advant?^ges  of  it.  And  in  the  eleventh  he  drew  his 
conclusion.     Here  he  stated,  that  it  was  the  inten- 


OF  WILLIAM    PENN.  85 

tion  of  Henry  the  Fourth  of  France  to  have  obliged 
the  Princes  of  Europe  to  some  such  balance  as  this, 
had  he  not  been  taken  off  by  the  hand  of  Ravilliac. 
"  His  example,"  says  he,  "  tells  us  that  this  is  Jit  to 
to  be  done;  Sir  William  Temple's  History  of  the 
United  Provinces  shows  us,  by  a  surpassing  in- 
stance, that  it  may  be  done;  and  Europe,  by  her  in- 
comparable miseries,  that  it  ought  to  be  done.  My 
3hare  is  only  in  thinking  of  it  at  this  juncture,  and 
putting  it  into  the  common  light,  for  the  peace  and 
prosperity  of  Europe." 

Among  the  private  letters  which  he  wrote  at  this 
time,  one  has  fallen  into  my  hands,  which,  as  it 
shows  the  warmth  of  feeling  with  which  he  pursued 
his  friendships,  and  the  pious  state  in  which  his 
mind  was  almost  constantly  preserved,  I  have 
thought  it  proper  to  copy.  [t  was  dated  Lon» 
don,  the  eleventh  of  September,  and  addressed 
to  Nathaniel  Blandford,  at  Stratford,  and  ran 
thus : 

''  Dear  Friend, 

^^  I  was  surprised  last  night,  when  I  was  told  of 
thy  great  illness,  and  weakness,  and  desire  to  see 
me.  Surely  had  I  ever  heard  it  I  should  have 
broken  through^  all  my    exercises  to  have   seen 

*  It  appears  from  this  sentence,  that,  though  he  was  an  exile 
in  lodgings  in  London,  he  had  not  formed  the  resolution  of  ne- 
ver stirring  out  of  doors  ;  for  he  would  have  visited  his  friend 
Blandford,  had  he  known  of  his  indisposition  before.  It  is  to  be 
presumed,  therefore,  that  he  v/ent  from  home  whenever  other  iit 
occasions  presented  themselves.  I  mention  this  merely  as  a  mark 
VOL.  II.  I 


86  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    LIFE 

thee  ;  and  I  cannot  express  my  trouble  that  my 
landlord  should  not  have  told  it  me,  though  order- 
ed by  Jos.  B.  seventh  day  week  ;  and  truly  I  won- 
der Joseph  never  hinted  it  himself.  I  now  dis- 
patch my  kinsman  this  morning  to  hear  of  the  state 
of  thy  health,  desiring  of  the  Lord  his  merciful 
loving-kindness  towards  thee  and  thine  in  thy 
preservation.  And  I  pray  God  sanctify  this  visi- 
tation to  thee  on  thy  better  part's  account,  that 
Truth  in  the  inward  parts  may  get  ground,  and  the 
testimony  and  cross  of  Jesus  may  prevail  to  thy 
prosperity  every  way.  I  have  been  thinking  to  see 
you  sometimes ;  then  interrupted  by  sorrowful 
occasions  ;  then  of  writing  to  thy  dear  wife,  whom 
I  love  and  esteem  above  most  I  know,  and  with 
my  letter  of  sending  her  a  few  books :  but  I  know 
not  how  I  have  been  prevented.  The  all-wis6 
God  give  us  faith  to  believe  all  shall  work  to- 
gether for  the  best !  So,  with  our  true  love  and 
concern  for  thee  and  thine,  I  rest  thy  most  assured 

Friend, 

"  William  Penn. 

"  My  poor  friend  (his  wife),  we  hope,  is  in  a 
mending  way,  though  slowly.    She  is  very  weak.'' 

In  about  two  months  after  the  writing  of  this 
letter  he  was  released  from  his  exile  by  the  interpo- 

'o£  the  consciousness  of  his  own  innocence,  because  his  person 
had  been  so  noticed,  and  had  become  so  familiar  to  people  in 
London,  that  the  Government  might  have  easily  apprehended 
him,  when  on  these  excursions,  had  it  been  so  inclined. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  87 

sition  of  his  friends.  Certain  persons  of  rank  and 
influence,  who  had  intimately  known  and  admired 
his  character,  thought  it  was  time  to  interest  them- 
selves in  his  behalf.  They  considered  it  as  a  dis- 
honour to  the  Government,  that  a  man  who  had 
lived  such  an  exemplary  life,  and  who  had  been  so 
distinguished  for  his  talents,  disinterestedness, 
generosity,  and  public  spirit,  should  be  buried  in  an 
ignoble  obscurity,  and  prevented  from  rising  to 
future  eminence  in  usefulness,  in  consequence  of 
the  attack  of  an  unprincipled  wretch,  whom  the 
Parliament  had  publicly  stigmatized  as  a  cheat 
and  impostor,  or  of  the  mere  suspicion  of  having 
incurred  the  charge  that  had  followed  it.  There 
was  nothing,  they  conceived,  in  his  conduct,  as  far 
as  it  had  been  investigated,  which  could  lead  impar- 
tial persons  to  suppose  that  he  was  in  any  degree 
guilty  of  any  of  the  charges  which  had  been  exhi- 
bited against  him.  Three  of  these  he  had  met  by  a 
personal  appearance  both  before  the  King  and 
Council,  and  in  the  Courts  of  Law,  and  he  had  been 
honourably  acquitted..  Dr.  Tillotson,  Mr.  Popple, 
Mr.  Locke,  and  many  persons  distinguished  for 
their  character  and  attainments,  yet  held  him  in 
esteem.  The  Government  itself  had  thought  his 
case  hard ;  for  it  had  never  followed  up  the  accu- 
sation of  Fuller  even  by  encouraging  the  first  War- 
rant, or  the  Proclamation,  by  any  active  search  for 
his  person.  In  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  were  those 
whom  he  had  benefited  by  his  private  liberality.  In 
America  he  had  sacrificed  a  princely  fortune  for  a 


818  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LI^E 

public  good.  All  his  actions,  however  mistaken  he 
might  be  ia  the  opinion  of  some,  were  so  consistent 
with  each  other  as  to  afford  a  demonstration  that 
they  proceeded  from  fixed  principles,  and  these  of 
the  purest  kind.  These  considerations  began  to 
operate  upon  many,  and  particularly  upon  the  Duke 
of  Buckingham,  and  the  Lords  Somers,  Ranelagh, 
Rochester,  and  Sidney.  The  three  last  went  in  a 
body  to  King  William.  "  They  represented  his 
case  to  His  Majesty  not  only  as  hard,  but  as  op- 
pressive. There  was  nothing,^'  they  said,  '^  against 
him  but  what  impostors  or  such  as  had  fled  their 
country  had  advanced;  or  such  as,  when  they  had 
been  pardoned  for  their  crimes,  they  had  refused  to 
verify.  They  themselves,"  they  added,  "  had  long 
known  him  (William  Penn),  some  of  them  thirty 
years,  and  they  had  never  known  him  do  an  ill 
thing,  but  many  good  offices,  and  that  if  it  had  not 
been  for  being  thought  to  go  abroad  in  defiance  of 
the  Government  he  would  have  done  it  two  years 
ago ;  but  that  he  chose  to  wait  to  go  about  his  busi- 
ness, as  before,  with  leave,  that  he  might  be  the 
better  respected  in  the  liberty  he  took  to  follow  it." 
King  William  answered,  that  '^  William  Penn 
was  his  old  acquaintance  as  well  as  theirs,  and  that 
he  might  follow  his  business  as  freely  as  ever,  for 
that  he  had  nothing  to  say  against  him."  Upon 
this  they  pressed  His  Majesty  to  command  one  of 
them  to  declare  this  his  gracious  intention  to  Sir 
John  Trenchard,  who  was  then  principal  Secretary 
of  State.     To  this  the  King  consented ;  and  as  the 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  89 

Lord  Sidney  was  one  of  the  most  intimate  acquaint- 
ances William  Penn  had,  he  was  selected  for  the 
purpose.  The  Secretary  of  State,  upon  receiving 
the  intelligence  from  the  Lord  Sidney,  was  much 
pleased;  for  William  Penn,  he  said,  had  done  him 
signal  service  after  the  Duke  of  Monmouth^s  and 
Lord  Russel's  business.  Soon  after  this  orders 
came  to  him  from  the  King  himself.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  he,  Sir  John,  appointed  William 
Penn  a  time  to  meet  him.  An  interview  took  place 
on  the  thirteenth  of  November,  when  Sir  John,  ia 
the  presence  of  the  Marquis  of  Winchester,  told 
him  ''  he  was  as  free  as  ever;"  adding,  that  ^'  as  he 
doubted  not  his  prudence  about  his  quiet  living,  so 
he  assured  him  he  should  not  be  molested  or  injur- 
ed in  any  of  his  affairs,  at  least  while  he  held  that 
post."  It  appears,  however,  as  if  William  Penn 
had  not  been  satisfied  with  the  manner  of  his  re- 
lease; for  a  Council  was  afterwards  held,  where, 
the  King  and  many  Lords  being  present,  he  was 
heard  in  his  own  defence,  and  where  he  so  pleaded 
his  innocency  that  he  was  acquitted. 

At  this  time  the  case  of  his  wife  had  become 
hopeless.  It  was,  however,  a  great  gratification  to 
him  to  think,  that,  before  her  spirit  fled  to  other 
mansions,  she  knew  of  his  honourable  restoration  to 
society.  To  her  his  acquittal  must  have  given  in- 
describable pleasure.  The  news  of  it  must  have 
been  as  balm  to  the  wounds  of  sickness.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  in  about  a  month  after  this  event  she 
died.. 

I  2 


90  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

It  cannot  be  expected,  from  the  very  nature  oi 
society,  that  the  wives  of  individuals  should  go 
down  to  posterity  with  an  illustrious  name,  except 
they  have  distinguished  themselves  in  a  public  man- 
nen  Those  females,  who  fulfil  their  domestic 
duties  even  in  the  most  exemplary  manner,  are 
seldom  recorded  but  in  the  breasts  of  their  own 
families.  Men  are  looked  upon  as  the  great  movers 
in  life ;  and  these  find  a  place  in  biographical  his- 
tory, when  their  wives,  who  have  perhaps  exhibited 
far  more  brilliant  characters,  have  gone  in  silence  to 
the  grave :  and  yet  a  few  words,  taken  from  records, 
may  be  said  in  behalf  of  Gulielma  Maria  Penn. 
Thomas  EUwood,  a  Quaker,  relates,  in  the  History 
of  his  own  Life,  an  anecdote,  which  shows  the  esti- 
mation in  which  she  was  held,  at  least  in  one  of  the 
places  where  she  had  lived.  The  reader  has  already 
been  informed,  that  William  Penn  soon  after  his 
marriage  resided  at  Rickmansworth  in  Hertford- 
shire, but  that  he  removed  afterward  to  Worming- 
hurst  in  Sussex.  I  may  now  mention,  that  Thomas 
Ell  wood  had  been  summoned  (this  was  in  the  year 
1683)  by  Sir  Benjamin  Titchborn  and  Thomas 
Fotherly,  two  Justices  of  the  Peace,  the  one  then 
living  in  and  the  other  near  Rickmansworth,  to 
appear  before  them  on  a  certain  day  on  account  of 
the  publication  of  his  book  called  "  A  Caution  to 
Constables."  This  summons  they  sent  him,  in  order 
that  they  might  commit  him  to  prison  till  the  next 
assize,  and  this  at  the  special  instigation  of  the  Earl 
of  Bridgewater;  one  of  the  King's  Cabinet  CounciL 


OF     WILLIAM     PENN.  91 

Just  at  this  time  Thomas  Ellwood  was  suddenly 
sent  for  express  by  Madam  Penn  (as  she  was  called), 
who  then  lay  dangerously  ill  at  Worminghurst,  and 
whose  husband  was  then,  it  may  be  recollected, 
in  America.  To  have  gone  immediately  to  her, 
would  have  been  to  prevent  his  appearance  before 
the  Justices  at  the  time  fixed  upon;  and  to  have 
appeared  before  them  at  the  time  fixed  upon, 
would  have  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  visit 
Madam  Penn.  in  this  dilemma  he  went  to  the 
Justices,  to  explain  to  them  how  he  was  situated, 
and  to  beg  a  respite  of  appearance.  They  received 
him  with  all  the  marks  of  anger:  but  when  he  told 
them  the  occasion  of  his  coming,  as  now  related, 
their  countenances  began  to  soften.  Not  only  Jus- 
tice Fotherly,  but  Sir  Benjamin  Titchborn  and  his 
lady,  who  happened  to  be  present  (though  great 
enemies  to  the  Quakers),  expressed  deep  feelings  of 
regret  at  the  illness  of  Madam  Penn ;  and  all  united 
in  expressing  their  admiration  of  her  virtues  and 
her  worth  while  she  lived  in  their  neighbourhoods 
Willing  to  oblige  such  an  estimable  person,  they 
not  only  granted  Thomas  Ellwood  his  request, 
though  at  a  time  when  they  were  rigorously  enforc- 
ing the  Conventicle  Act ;  but  for  her  sake  never 
troubled  him  more  on  the  same  subject. 

But  the  great  testimony  concerning  her  was  from 
her  husband.  He  wrote  "  An  Account  of  the 
blessed  End  of  his  dear  Wife,  Guilelma  Maria 
Penn,"  to  which  he  fixed  as  a  motto,  "  The  Me- 
mory of  the  Just  is  blessed."    The  account  consist- 


92  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ed  in  part  of  certain  "  weighty  expressions,  which 
she  uttered  upon  divers  occasions,  both  before  and 
near  her  end,  and  which  he  took  down  for  his  own 
and  his  dear  children's  consolation."  I  select  the 
following  passages  from  it : 

"  At  one  of  the  many  meetings,"  says  William 
Penn,  "  held  in  her  chamber,  we  and  our  children 
and  one  of  our  servants  being  only  present ;  in  a 
tendering  and  living  power  she  broke  out  as  she  sat 
in  her  chair,  '  Let  us  all  prepare,  not  knowing  what 
hour  or  watch  the  Lord  cometh,  O,  I  am  full  of 
matter !  Shall  we  receive  good,  and  shall  we  not  re- 
ceive evil  things  at  the  hands  of  the  Lord  ?  I  have 
cast  my  care  upon  the  Lord.  He  is  the  physician 
of  value*  My  expectation  is  wholly  from  him. 
He  can  raise  up,  and  he  can  cast  down.'" 

"  To  a  Friend  aged  sixty-five,  that  came  to  see 
her,  she  said,  '  How  much  older  (she  was  herself 
then  fifty)  has  the  Lord  made  me  by  this  weakness 
than  thou  art !  But  I  am  contented.  I  do  not 
murmur.     I  submit  to  his  holy  will.'" 

"  She  did  at  several  times  pray  very  sw^eetly,  and 
in  all  her  weakness  manifested  the  most  equal,  un- 
daunted, and  resigned  spirit,  as  well  as  in  all  other 
respects.  She  was  an  excelling  person  both  as  wife, 
child,  mother,  mistress,  friend,  and  neighbour." 

"  She  called  th^  children  one  day,  when  weak, 
and  said,  '  Be  not  frightened,  children.  I  do  not 
call  you  to  take  mv  leave  of  you,  but  to  see  you  j 
and  I  would  have  you  walk  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  93 

and  with  his  People,  in  his  holy  Truth,'  or  to  that 
effect." 

*'  About  three  hours  before  her  end,  a  relation 
taking  leave  of  her,  she  said,  '  I  have  cast  my  care 
upon  the  Lord  ;  my  dear  love  to  all  Friends  ;'  and, 
lifting  up  her  dying  hands  and  eyes,  prayed  the 
Lord  to  preserve  and  bless  them." 

"  About  an  hour  after,  causing  all  to  withdraw, 
we  were  half  an  hour  together,  in  which  we  took 
our  last  leave,  saying  all  that  was  fit  upon  that 
solemn  occasion.  She  continued  sensible,  and  did 
eat  something  about  an  hour  before  her  departure, 
at  which  time  our  children  and  most  of  my  family 
were  present.  She  quietly  expired  in  my  arms,  her 
head  upon  my  bosom,  with  a  sensible  and  devout 
resignation  of  her  soul  to  Almighty  God.  I  hope  I 
may  say  she  was  a  public  as  well  as  private  loss  ; 
for  she  was  not  only  an  excellent  wife  and  mother, 
but  an  entire  and  constant  friend,  of  a  more  than 
common  capacity,  and  greater  modesty  and  hu- 
mility ;  yet  most  equal,  and  undaunted  in  danger  j 
religious,  as  well  as  ingenuous,  without  affectation  ; 
an  easy  mistress,  and  good  neighbour,  especially  to 
the  poor  ;  neither  lavish  nor  penurious  ;  but  an  ex- 
ample of  industry,  as  weli  as  of  other  virtues: 
therefore  our  great  loss,  though  her  own  eternal 
gain." 

It  will  be  proper  now  to  see  how  the  Province 
and  Territories  went  on  during  this  period.  Colo- 
nel Fletcher,  who  had  received  his  Commission, 
left  Nev/  York- for  Philadelphia  to  take  upon  him 


94  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

the  Government  of  these.  He  took  with  him  a  few 
soldiers  in  his  retinue,  a  sight  never  before  witness- 
ed in  the  latter  city.  On  his  arrival  he  summoned 
the  Assembly ;  but  a  dispute  arose  directly  between 
him  and  the  Council,  because  he  had  not  summoned 
it  in  the  old  legal  way,  which,  on  account  of  the 
firmness  of  the  latter,  it  took  some  time  to  adjust. 

The  Assembly  having  been  at  length  legally 
brought  together,  oaths  and  tests  were  presented  to 
the  members  in  the  manner  of  other  Governments 
under  the  immediate  administration  of  the  Crown. 
But  here  a  new  difficulty  arose  ;  for,  most  of  them 
being  Quakers,  they  refused  to  be  sworn.  To  ob- 
viate this,  the  Governor  proposed  to  them  to  sub- 
scribe to  the  Declarations  and  Professions  mention- 
ed in  the  Act  for  liberty  of  conscience  in  the  first 
year  of  William  and  Mary ;  but  he  declared  to 
them  at  the  same  time,  that  his  proposal  was  entire- 
ly an  act  of  favour  on  his  part,  and  that  it  was  not 
to  be  drawn  into  precedent  as  a  matter  of  right  in 
future. 

This  declaration  of  the  Governor  disconcerted 
them  again.  They  had  no  conception,  either  that 
William  Penn  or  that  they  themselves  had  forfeited 
those  privileges  which  were  in  the  Compact  of  the 
Settlement.  They  determined,  however,  in  order 
that  the  public  business  might  go  on,  to  sacrifice 
their  feelings  for  once,  and  to  acknowledge  his  ac- 
ceptance of  their  subscription  to  the  Declaration 
and  Professions  before  mentioned,  as  an  act  of  in- 
dulgence for  the  time. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  95 

As  soon  as  the  members  had  become  thus 
qualified  for  the  exercise  of  their  functions,  the 
Governor  communicated  to  them  a  letter,  by  way  of 
message  from  the  Queen,  stating,  that  as  the  ex- 
pense for  the  protection  of  Albany  against  the 
French  had  become  intolerably  burthensome  to  its 
inhabitants,  and  as  Albany  was  a  frontier,  by  means 
of  which  several  other  colonies  were  defended,  it 
was  but  reasonable  that  such  colonies  should  assist 
the  Government  of  New  York  from  time  to  time  in 
the  preservation  of  it  during  the  war. 

The  Assembly,  after  having  deliberated  upon 
the  Message,  resolved  upon  an  humble  Address  to 
the  Governor,  in  which  they  seemed  desirous  of 
putting  off  the  consideration  of  the  subject  contain- 
ed in  it,  respectfully  beseeching  him  that  their  pro- 
cedure in  legislation  might  be  according  to  the 
usual  method  and  laws  of  the  Government  of  Penn- 
sylvania, founded  upon  the  late  King's  letters 
patent,  which  they  humbly  conceived  were  yet  in 
force.  To  this  Address  he  replied,  but  in  a  man- 
ner so  displeasing  (for  he  threatened  to  annex  them 
to  the  Government  of  New  York),  that  they  sent 
him  a  public  Remonstrance  through  the  medium  of 
their  Speaker.  They  said,  among  other  things, 
that  one  of  the  reasons  alleged  for  the  superseding 
of  William  Penn  was  his  adhering  too  much  to 
James  the  Second,  but  that  he  had  never  been 
found  guilty  of  the  charge.  Another  was,  that  the 
administration  of  justice  had  been  impeded  by  the 
quarrels  between  the  Territories  and  the  Province. 


96  MEMOIRS    or    THE    LIFE 

This  charge  was  equally  unfounded.  For  the 
Courts  of  Justice  were  open  in  all  the  counties  be- 
longing to  the  Government,  and  justice  duly  exe- 
cuted, from  the  highest  crimes  of  treason  and  mur- 
der to  the  lowest  differences  about  property,  before 
the  date  of  his  (the  Governor's)  Commission.  Nei- 
ther did  they  apprehend  that  the  Province  was  in 
danger  of  being  lost  to  the  Crown,  although  the 
Government  was  in  the  hands  of  some  whose  prin- 
ciples were  not  for  war.  They  conceived  that  his 
(the  Governor's)  administration,  though  it  sus- 
pended that  of  William  Penn,  was  not  to  be  at  va- 
riance with  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  latter. 
They  acknowledged  him  (Fletcher)  undoubtedly  as 
their  then  lawful  Governor;  but  they  reserved  to 
themselves,  and  to  those  whom  they  represented, 
the  continuance  of  their  just  privileges  and  rights. 

After  this  the  Assembly  enacted  several  laws. 
These  were  sent  up  to  the  Governor  and  Council. 
They  were  detained,  however,  by  the  former  uncon- 
stitutionally in  point  of  time,  to  see  whether  the 
Assembly  would  vote  a  pecuniary  supply  according 
to  the  tenour  of  the  Queen's  letter.  This  unseason- 
able delay,  together  with  other  circumstances,  of- 
fended the  Assembly  again  ;  so  that  they  unani- 
mously resolved,  "  that  all  Bills  sent  to  the  Go- 
vernor and  Council,  in  order  to  be  amended,  ought 
to  be  returned  to  this  House  to  have  their  further 
approbation  upon  such  amendments,  before  they 
could  have  their  final  assent  to  pass  into  laws."     In 


OF  WILLIAM  PEN^.  97 

consequence  of  this,  the  Governor  returned  some  of 
them,  with  his  objections,  for  amendment.  These 
the  assembly  passed  ;  after  which  they  voted  a  sup- 
ply, consisting  of  one  penny  in  the  pound  on  all  Pcal 
and  personal  estates  for  one  year,  and  six  shillings 
per  poll  for  one  year  upon  individuals  who  had  come 
out  of  servitude,  or  were  not  worth  one  hundred 
pounds  ;  ^vhich,  when  collected  in  the  six  counties, 
would  amount  to  seven  hundred  and  sixty  pounds 
sixteen  shillings  and  twopence. 

The  Governor,  having  obtained  his  supply,  con- 
firmed all  the  Bills  which  had  been  passed.  He 
then  dissolved  the  Assembly  at  their  own  request  ; 
and  having  appointed  William  Markham  his  De- 
puty Governor,  he  returned  to  his  station  at  New 
York. 

It  must  be  obvious  from  this  statement,  that  there 
was  no  great  cordiality  between  Governor  Fletcher 
and  the  Council  and  Assembly  during  his  residence 
among  them.  The  former,  following  the  practice 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  in  the  administration  of 
the  Government  of  New  York,  which  differed  from 
that  of  Pennsylvania,  was  led  into  a  false  step  at  the 
very  first  by  convening  the  Assembly  in  an  illegal 
manner.  This  produced  suspicion  and  jealousy 
among  the  latter.  This  suspicion  and  this  jealousy 
he  awakened  again,  perhaps  from  his  own  ignorance 
of  Quaker  principles,  by  his  attempt  to  introduce 
the  oath  among  them  as  a  qualification  for  legisla- 
tion. But,  while  they  were  in  this  unsetded  state, 
he  proposed  to  them  the  Queen's  letter,  by  which 

VOL.  II.  K 


^8  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

they  were  to  vote  a  pecuniary  supply  towards  the 
defence  of  Albany.  Here,  being  equally  principled 
against  war  as  against  oaths,  their  feelings  received 
another  shock.  They  began  now  to  be  seriously 
alarmed.  They  had  left  their  homes  and  crossed 
the  Atlantic  to  get  rid  of  what  they  considered  to 
be  the  barbarous  and  corrupt  customs  of  the  Old 
World,  and  to  start  as  a  people  upon  a  new  system. 
But  they  found  themselves  grievously  disappointed. 
Oaths,  war,  and  taxation  were  now  at  hand.  They 
thought  they  saw  armies  marching  and  counter- 
marching among  what  they  had  expected  to  be 
peaceable  habitations.  They  thought  they  saw  the 
Indians  engaged  in  a  contest,  those  very  people 
whom  it  was  the  object  of  William  Penn  to  bring 
from  ferocious  habits  to  the  blessings  of  civilized 
life.  With  respect  to  the  tax,  as  it  was  a  funda- 
mental of  their  religion  always  to  obey  the  existing 
Government,  except  where  their  consciences  suf- 
fered, they  consented  to  it ;  but  they  stipulated  in 
the  Bill,  that  one  half  of  the  money  raised  should  go 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  Governor,  and  the  other 
half  as  their  own  free  present  to  the  Crown.  Such 
was  the  state  of  their  minds,  v/hen  Governor  Flet- 
cher left  them,  upon  a  view  of  which  they  could  not 
help  contrasting  his  Government  with  that  of  Wil- 
liam Penn.  This  served  only  to  confirm  their  pre- 
judices against  the  former,  and  to  elevate  the  cha- 
racter of  the  latter.  Nor  could  this  view  of  the 
matter  operate  otherwise  than  as  a  painful  reproach 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  99 

upon  themselves;  for  in  a  few  months  after  Flet- 
cher, a  mere  stranger,  had  arrived,  they  granted 
him  a  provision,  and  they  made  the  Crown  a  pre- 
sent ;  while  for  years,  even  to  this  very  time,  they 
had  not  furnished  a  table  for  William  Penn. 


100  ME>fOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  VIL 

J.  1694 — xvrites  "  An  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Pro- 
gress of  the  ^lakers'*'^ — general  contents  of  this 
loork — also  "-4  Visitation  to  the  Jews*'* — ex- 
tracts from  the?ice — publishes  his  "  jfourney  into 
Holland  and  Germany  as  performed  in  1677" — 
is  restored  to  his  Government  by  King  William'-* 
handsome  manner  of  rvording  the  royal  order  for 
this  purpose — travels  in  the  ministry -^letter  to 
John  Gratton-^affairs  of  Pennsylvania — death 
and  character  of  Thomas  Lloyd. 

Will  I  AM  Penn,  Ix  Airing  been  honourahly  acquit* 
ted,  was  now  at  liberty  to  follow  his  inclinations 
where  he  pleased.  His  thoughts  were  naturally  di- 
rected towards  Pennsylvania.  But,  alas,  his  new 
situation  among  other  things  prevented  him,  at  least 
for  the  present,  from  going  there  !  He  had  just  lost 
his  wife.  His  children  were  without  a  mother.  He 
felt  it  therefore  his  duty  to  stay  at  home  for  a  while, 
that  he  might  comfort  and  instruct  his  family  ;  that 
he  might  act  the  part  of  a  double  parent ;  and  that 
he  might  make  those  arrangements,  which  the  late 
melancholy  event  had  rendered  necessar}''  in  his  do- 
mestic concerns. 

Being  tied  down  as  it  were  to  the  house  on  this 
account,  his  mind  ftll  into  employment,  the  result  of 
which  was  the  production  of  a  book,  which,  how- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  lOl 

ever,  he  intended  only  as  a  Preface  to  the  Writings 
of  George  Fox.  It  contained  ''^  An  Account  of  the 
Rise  and  Progress  of  the  People  called  Quakers, 
in  which  their  fundamental  Principles,  Doctrines, 
Worship,  Ministry,  and  Discipline,  were  plainly 
declared." 

He  gave  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  work  a  history 
of  the  different  dispensations  of  God  to  the  time  of 
George  Fox,  or  to  the  first  appearance  of  the  Qua- 
kers. 

He  explained  in  the  second  their  great  Principle  ; 
the  opposition  it  had  met  with  ;  its  progress  not- 
withstanding;  and  the  great  comfort  it  administered 
wherever  it  had  been  received  ;  hovv^  out  of  it  threx^ 
great  and  fundamental  doctrines  sprung,  which  their 
preachers  taught ;  namely,  repentance  from  dead 
works  to  serve  the  living  God,  perfection  from  sin 
as  included  in  the  notion  of  regeneration  or  a  new 
birth,  and  an  acknowledgment  of  eternal  rewards  • 
and  punishments  ;  how  from  these,  as  the  greater, 
other  doctrines  sprung,  which  influenced  their  prac- 
tice, such  as  the  love  of  one  another ;  the  love  of 
their  enemies  ;  their  refusal  to  confirm  their  testi- 
mony by  an  oath,  and  to  fight  or  engage  in  wars, 
and  to  pay  ministers  for  preaching  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  to  show  respect  to  persons  by  flattering- 
titles  or  compliments  of  respect ;  their  adoption  of 
plainness  and  simplicity  in  their  language,  their  ab- 
stinence from  all  unnecessary  words,  and  their  re- 
jection of  the  heathen  custom  of  drinking  healths  to 
people.  He  concluded  with  a  description  of  their ' 
K2 


i02  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

simple  way  of  marriage,  and  of  the  manner  of  regis- 
tering their  births  and  conducting  their  funerals,  all 
of  which  were  opposite  to  the  pomps  and  vanities  of 
the  world. 

He  explained  in  the  third  chapter  what  were  the 
qualifications  of  their  ministers,  and  the  marks  by 
which  they  might  be  known  to  be  Christian. 

In  the  fourth  chapter  he  explained  the  object  and 
the  manner  of  conducting  their  discipline.  Its  ob- 
ject was  to  supply  the  necessities  of  the  poor;  to 
take  care  that  they  who  were  members  answered 
their  high  profession,  not  only  by  living  peaceably, 
but  by  showing  in  all  things  a  good  example  ;  to  in- 
quire previously  as  to  marriages,  whether  the  par- 
ties to  be  concerned  in  them  were  clear  of  all  marri- 
age-promises or  engagements  to  others  ;  to  register 
births  and  funerals ;  and  to  record  the  services  and 
sufferings  of  those  deceased  members  who  had 
acted  as  faithful  servants.  The  way  of  conducting 
it  he  described  to  be  by  Elders,  and  by  monthly, 
quarterly,  and  yearly  meetings,  at  which  persons 
were  deputed  to  attend  for  their  respective  districts. 
All  members,  however,  whether  deputed  or  not, 
might  be  present  at  these,  and  deliver  their  minds 
upon  the  points  before  them.  At  these  meetings 
there  was  no  visible  head,  no  chairman,  or  chief 
manager  ;  but  they  considered  Christ  as  their  Pre- 
sident, who  would  always  be  in  the  midst  of  those 
who  met  together  in  his  name.  He  then  described 
the  principle  and  authority  upon  which  they  pro- 
ceeded against  those  who  had  transgressed,   the 


OF   WILLIAM   TENN.  103 

manner  of  such  proceeding,  and  how  the  way  was 
left  open  to  them  (on  repentance)  of  restoration  to 
membership. 

The  fifth  chapter  contained  a  history  of  the  life  of 
the  founder.  He  drew  therein  a  beautiful  and  inte- 
resting picture  of  his  birth,  parentage,  early  disposi- 
tion, habits,  qualifications,  character,  troubles,  suf- 
ferings, and  of  his  death  and  final  triumph. 

The  sixth  contained  general  exhortations,  not 
only  to  the  members  of  the  Society,  but  to  those 
who  were  yet  strangers  to  the  Quakers  as  a  people. 
These  exhortations  were  varied  so  as  to  suit  the 
ages,  conditions,  and  states  of  those  to  whom  they 
were  severally  addressed. 

William  Penn  spent  a  part  of  his  retirement  with 
his  family  in  reading.  Among  the  books  which  in- 
terested him  at  this  time  was  one  written  by  John 
Tomkins.  It  had  the  following  title  :  '^  The  Har- 
mony of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  and  the  ful- 
filling of  the  Prophets  concerning  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
viour Jesus  Christ  and  his  Kingdom  in  the  latter 
Days  ;  with  a  brief  Concordance  of  the  Names  and 
Attributes  given  to  Christ,  and  some  Texts  of 
Scripture  collected  concerning  Christ's  Humiliation 
and  Sufferings,  also  his  excellent  Dignity  and  Glori- 
fication." In  consequence  of  the  perusal  of  this 
book  he  felt  his  mind  drawn  towards  those  unhappy 
people,  who,  ever  since  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem, have  been  wandering  about,  carrying  the  marks 
of  prophecy  with  them  wherever  they  have  gone. 
He  wrote,  therefore,  by  way  of  Appendix  to  it,  a 


104  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

small  pamphlet,  which  he  called  "  A  Visitation  to 
the  Jews."  It  consisted  of  a  tender  and  compas- 
sionate address  to  the  seed  of  Abraham  and  house 
of  Israel  after  the  flesh,  wherever  scattered  over  the 
face  of  the  earth,  with  an  earnest  desire  that  the 
time  of  their  captivity  might  come  to  an  end,  and 
that  they,  who  were  the  natural  branches  broken  off 
through  unbelief,  might  come  again  to  be  ingrafted 
by  faith  and  through  the  circumcision  made  with- 
out hands,  so  that  the  hope  of  the  promise  made  to 
their  fathers  might  be  manifested  among  them.  In 
this  address  he  attempted  to  show  them  how  ill 
founded  those  objections  were  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  their  conversion  to  the  Christian  religion.  I 
select  the  following  passage  as  a  specimen  of  the 
manner  of  his  argument  on  this  occasion : 

"  But  if,"  says  he*  to  the  Jews,  "  you  have  no 
reason  to  deny  the  New  Testament-writings  any 
^lore  than  we  have  to  deny  the  authority  of  the  Old, 
in  which  you  so  firmly  believe,  it  is  as  reasonable  in 
us  to  expect  you  should  receive  the  authority  of  the 
New,  as  that  we  should  embrace  the  authority  of 
the  Old.  For  what  have  you  to  justify  the  truth  of 
those  writings,  but  the  impossibility  of  so  many 
people  consenting  to  delude  themselves,  and  being 
able  to  impose  upon  their  posterity  a  fiction  about 
the  great  and  important  matters  of  immortality? 
For  the  miracles  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament- 
scriptures  are  as  much  above  reason,  and  conse- 
quently as  incredible  to  worldlv  men,  as  the  mira- 
cles recorded  in  the  New  Testament-scriptures;  so 


OF  WILLIAM    PENN.  105 

that  the  authority  you  have  for  the  Old  Testament- 
writings  is  the  truth  and  credibility  of  their  tra- 
dition. This,  we  say,  we  also  have  for  ours.  How 
could  so  many  men,  whom  you  have  not  taxed 
with  ill  lives  or  atheistical  principles,  agree  together 
to  pat  so  great  an  imposture  upon  the  world,  as  the 
penmen  of  the  New  Testament-writings  must  needs 
have  done,  if  what  they  write  were  fictions  ?  You 
cannot  deny  that  there  was  such  a  man  as  Jesus, 
and  that  he  was  put  to  death  by  your  fathers,  though 
pretended  to  be  a  malefactor,  and  that  he  had  fol- 
lowers, and  that  those  followers  asserted  and  main- 
tained the  doctrine  of  their  Master.  Where  is 
there  any  confutation  of  what  is  affirmed  of  the 
deeds  and  doctrines  of  Jesus  by  his  writers 
in  the  whole  body  of  your  antiquity,  that  he 
wrought  none  of  the  miracles  said  to  be  wrought  by 
himr" 

A  third  work,  which  he  brought  out  at  this  time, 
was  an  Account  of  his  Travels  through  Holland 
and  Germany  in  the  year  1677.  Of  this  I  shall  say 
nothing,  having  made  large  extracts  from  it  when 
I  gave  an  account  of  his  proceedings  for  that 
year. 

While  he  had  been  employed  in  this  manner,  two 
events  had  taken  place,  which  it  will  be  now  proper, 
and  indeed  very  pleasing,  to  relate*  The  first  of 
these  was  a  complete  reconciliation  with  his  own  re- 
ligious Society.  How  this  was  effected  is  not 
known.     Certain  however  it  is,  that  it  was  brought 


106  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

to  pass,  and  this  early  in  the  present  year,  and  that 
after  this  he  enjoyed  a  greater  portion  than  ever  of 
the  friendship  and  esteem  of  its  members.  The 
second  was  his  restoratio?i  to  the  Government  of 
Pennsyhania.  It  has  been  said  by  some,  that  the 
Quakers  were  now  so  warmly  attached  to  him,  that 
they  had  been  the  means,  by  uncommon  exertions, 
of  procuring  for  him  this  mark  of  the  royal  favour. 
But  the  assertion  is  not  true.  William  Penn,  soon 
after  his  last  honourable  discharge  by  the  King  and 
Council,  had  sent  a  petition  to  the  former  for  this 
very  purpose,  which  stood  upon  its  own  merits. 
King  William,  having  received  it,'took  it  into  cqnsi* 
deration ;  and  the  result  was,  that  it  was  thought 
but  just  and  reasonable  to  comply  with  his  request. 
Accordingly  an  instrument  was  made  out  by  the 
Royal  order,  and  dated  and  signed  on  the  twentieth 
of  August,  by  which  he  was  restored  to  his  Go* 
vemment;  and  the  way  in  which  this  instrument 
was  worded  was  particularly  creditable  to  William 
Penn,  for  it  was  declared  therein,  that  the  disorder 
and  confusion  into  which  the  Province  and  Terri- 
tories had  fallen  (which  had  been  the  pretence  for 
dispossessing  him)  had  ^een  occasioiied  entirely  by 
his  absence  from  them.  I  may  add  to  this,  that  he 
began  to  recover  in  the  estimation  of  his  country- 
men at  large :  for  it  was  generally  known  that  Fuller 
was  then  living  in  disgrace,  that  is,  in  the  disgrace 
which  the  Resolution  of  Parliament  and  the  pu- 
nishment of  the  pillory  had  brought  upon  himj 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  107 

Avhereas  he,  William  Penn,  after  having  passed 
through  four  fiery  ordeals,  had  come  out  of  them 
only  to  re-ascend  to  honour. 

Having  arranged  his  domestic  concerns,  and  ob- 
tained his  former  rank  and  character  in  society,  he 
determined  to  visit  the  west  of  England  in  his  capa- 
city as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  He  travelled,  as 
we  find  in  the  folio  volume  of  his  Life,  "  in  the 
counties  of  Glocester,  Somerset,  Devon,  and  Dor- 
set, having  meetings  almost  daily  in  the  most  con- 
siderable towns  and  other  places  in  those  counties, 
to  which  the  people  flocked  abundantly ;  and  his 
testimony  to  the  Truth,  answering  to  that  of  God 
in  their  consciences,  was  assented  to  by  many." 
This  is  all  we  can  collect  of  his  journey  from  this 
quarter.  We  have,  however,  a  more  particular 
account  of  his  proceedings  for  a  few  days,  though  a 
very  short  one,  from  John  Whiting.  The  latter  in 
his  Memoirs  writes  thus :  "  This  year  in  the  ninth 
month  William  Penn  came  down  to  Bristol,  and  to 
Chew,  and  had  a  great  meeting  at  Clareham,  and 
came  to  my  house  at  Wrington  that  night  with 
several  other  Friends.  And  next  day  we  went 
with  him  on  board  the  Bengal  ship  in  Kingroad  to 
dinner  ;  and  afterwards  by  Westbury  to  Bristol  on 
seventh  day  night,  where  on  first  day  were  very  large 
meetings.  And  about  two  weeks  after  he  went 
westward,  and  had  large  meetings  in  most  of  the 
great  towns  in  our  county,  as  also  in  Devonshire  and 
Dorsetshire.  I  met  him  at  Wells,  and  went  with  him 
to  Somerton,  where  it  was  some  time  before  we 


i08  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

could  get  a  place  large  enough  for  the  meeting,  the 
Market-house,  where  the  meeting  began,  though 
large,  not  being  big  enough  to  hold  it^  and  at  last 
we  were  glad  to  go  out  into  the  fields ;  and  a  great 
gathering  there  was.  I  met  him  again  at  Bridge- 
water,  where  he  had  a  great  meeting  in  the  Town- 
hall,  as  he  had  in  most  places,  which  the  Mayors 
generally  consented  to  for  the  respect  they  had  to 
him,  few  places  else  being  sufficient  to  hold  the 
meetings.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of  tenth  month 
he  came  again  to  Wrington,  and  had  a  large  meet- 
ing in  the  Court-hall  (where  we  then  kept  our 
meetings),  where  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and 
his  wife." 

On  his  return  from  his  journey  he  came  to  Lon- 
don, after  which  we  have  no  further  trace  of  him 
for  the  present  year,  except  in  a  letter  which  he 
wrote  from  thence  to  John  Gratton,  who  was  an 
eminent  minister  of  the  Society,  and  who  lived 
near  Chesterfield  in  Derbyshire.  This  worthy 
man  had  suffered  much  by  the  spoliation  of  his 
goods  on  account  of  his  religion.  He  was  then  a 
respectable  tradesman,  but  stood  high  in  the  esteem 
of  his  neighbour,  then  Earl,  but  afterwards  first 
Duke,  of  Devonshire.  I  present  the  following  ex- 
tracts from  it  to  the  reader : 

"  Dear  John  Gratton, 

"  Thy  dear  and  tender  love  I  feel  by  thy  kind 
lines,  and  they  were  to  my  comfort  and  refreshment. 
Thy  name  has  been  down  in  my  pocket-book  ever 
since  I  came  to  this  city,  to  write  to  thee  as  one  of 


OF    WILLIAM    PENKf.  109 

my  dear  and  choice  friends,  that  lies  and  lives  near 
me,  with  whom  is  my  dear,  near,  and  inward  fel- 
lowship ;  and  that  thou  art  low  and  poor,  and  as 
self-independent  as  ever,  is  a  brave  condition,  and 
thou  canst  not  say  better  for  thyself  or  the  greatest 
w^orthy  in  the  flock,  O  dear  John,  I  desire  to  dwell 
there,  while  I  live  in  this  tabernacle.  It  is  my 
prayer,  and  much  of  my  ministry  to  God's  people* 
Some  are  convinced,  but  not  converted  j  and  many, 
that  are  converted,  do  not  persevere  :  wherefore 
their  oil  dries  up  ;  and  Self,  in  Truth's  form,  gets  up 
under  specious  pretences." 

"  Through  the  Lord's  great  mercy  and  beyond 
my  hopes  I  am  yet  tolerably  well  through  hard  ser- 
vice, which  it  has  been  my  lot  to  be  engaged  in  of 
late  ;  in  which  the  Lord  has  abundantly  answered 
me,  and  tender-hearted  Friends  and  sober  people  of 
all  sorts." 

"  As  yet  I  have  not  seen  my  own  home  above 
these  four  months.  I  am  a  poor  pilgrim  on  the 
earth,  yet  my  hope  is  established  for  an  abiding 
place  in  an  unchangeable  world." 

"  Dear  John,  never  trouble  thyself  with  priests. 
Let  them  have  our  books.  Take  two  or  three  gross 
things  from  theirs,  confute  them,  and  leave  the  rest. 
Methinks  J.  R.  (Sir  John  Rhodes,  who  was  Grat- 
ton's  neighbour,  and  had  become  a  Quaker)  should 
exercise  himself  that  way,  which  would  whet  him 
up  to  services  suitable  to  his  condition.  My  love 
to  him  and  the  Doctor,  (Gilbert  Heathcote,  who 
aad  married  Sir  John  Rhodes's  sister:}  I  remember 

VOL.  II.  L 


110  MEMOIRS    OF   THE   LIFE 

them  in  my  prayers  to  the  Lord,  that  they  may 
travel  on  to  the  end,  and  receive  the  crown  of 
faithfulness.  So,  in  the  Lord's  love,  dearly  fare- 
well ! 

"  Thy  cordial  Friend  and  loving  Brother, 

"  William  Penm." 

We  may  now  look  at  what  passed  in  America  du- 
ring this  period. 

Colonel  Fletcher,  who  had  gone  to  New  York 
for  the  winter,  returned  to  Philadelphia  in  the 
spring.  Having  called  the  Assembly  legally,  he 
sent  them  a  message,  stating  that  he  had  received 
information  ''  that  the  five  nations  of  Indians,  who 
had  been  so  long  faithful  to  the  English,  were  now 
debauched  to  the  French  interest  in  Canada  ;  that 
he  was  come  to  lay  the  whole  affair  before  them, 
assuring  them  that  their  own  Indians  would  be  com- 
pelled to  join  the  confederacy  ;  that  in  consequence 
thereof  he  had  seen  fourscore  fine  farms  all  depopu- 
lated about  Albany ;  that  the  Jerseys  had  done  more 
for  the  common  defence  than  all  the  other  adjacent 
Provinces  ;  that  though  he  respected  those  scruples 
which  led  them  to  refuse  to  carry  arms  or  to  levy 
money  for  war,  yet  he  hoped  they  would  not  refuse 
to  feed  the  hungry  and  clothe  the  naked,  which  they 
might  do  by  supplying  the  Indian  nations  with  such 
necessaries  as  might  influence  a  continuation  of 
their  friendship  to  these  Provinces  ;  and,  lastly,  that 
be  was  ready,  as  far  as  in  him  lay  consistently  w^ith 
the  rules  of  loyalty  and  a  just  regard  to  liberty  and 


OF    WILLIAM   PENN.  Ill 

property,  to  redress  their  grievances,  if  they  had 
any." 

This  message  displeased  the  Assembly.  It  serv- 
ed only  to  recall  their  former  fears.  They  consi- 
dered it  as  a  demand  for  more  of  the  public  money, 
but  in  a  new  shape.  They  determined  therefore  to 
resist  it,  and  accordingly  they  refused  the  Governor 
the  supply.  Several  laws,  however,  were  passed 
between  this  and  the  subsequent  session,  which  was 
the  last  under  Colonel  Fletcher  ;  for,  having  receiv- 
ed the  official  letters  which  superseded  him,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  restoration  of  the  Government  to 
William  Penn,  he  took  his  final  leave  of  them,  and 
returned  to  his  own  Province. 

About  this  time  died  Thomas  Lloyd,  whom  I 
have  had  occasion  so  often  to  mention  in  these  Me- 
moirs. He  died  at  the  early  age  of  fifty-four,  greatly 
lamented  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  the  younger 
son  of  a  very  ancient  family,  which  possessed  the 
estate  of  Dolobran  in  Montgomeryshire.  He  had 
received  a  learned  education  at  Oxford,  but  after- 
wards on  conviction  joined  the  Society  of  the  Qua- 
kers. Dr.  William  Lloyd,  the  learned  and  liberal- 
minded  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  in  whose  diocese  he 
lived,  and  who  was  afterwards  translated  in  succes- 
sion to  the  sees  of  Litchfield  and  Coventry,  and 
Worcester,  inquired,  according  to  his  cus^tom,  both 
of  him  and  his  brother  Charles,  when  they  separat- 
ed from  the  Church,  their  reasons  for  so  doing. 
They  consented  to  give  them  in  public,  but  in  no 
other  way.  Accordingly  a  religious  conference  took 


J12  MteMOms    OF    THE    LIFE 

place  at  Welchpool,  which  lasted  from  two  in  the 
afternoon  till  two  in  the  morning.  It  was  then  ad- 
journed to  Llanvilling,  to  the  Town-hall,  where  it 
lasted  two  davs.  It  was  not  a  conference  of  dispu- 
tation, for  the  Bishop  confined  himself  principally  to 
the  proposing  of  questions  and  to  the  hearing  of  an- 
swers. On  the  last  day  he  forced  Thomas  Lloyd 
into  no  less  than  twenty-eight  syllogisms  extempore^ 
which  were  put  down  in  writing  as  they  were  deli- 
vered, on  the  subjects  of  Baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Thomas  Lloyd  acquitted  himself  so  well 
on  this  occasion,  that  the  Bishop  greatly  commend- 
ed his  learning.  After  this  he  went  over  to  Ame- 
rica, and  filled,  as  we  have  seen,  the  office  both  of 
President  of  the  Council  and  of  Deputy  Governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  these  with  great  ability  and  in- 
tegrity. These  posts,  however,  he  disliked,  greatly 
preferring  a  private  life  :  but  he  filled  them  from  a 
belief,  which  others  at  length  persuaded  him  to  en- 
tertain, that  he  would  be  doing  good  by  accepting 
them.  On  his  death-bed,  after  an  illness  of  only 
six  days,  he  took  leave  of  those  who  were  near  him 
in  the  following  calm  manner  :  "  I  die  in  unity  and 
love  with  all  faithful  Friends.  I  have  fought  a  good 
fight.  I  have  kept  the  faith,  which  stands  not  in  the 
wisdom  of  words,  but  in  the  power  of  God.  I  have 
sought,  not  for  strife  and  contention,  but  for  the 
grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  the  simplicity  of 
the  Gospel.  I  lay  down  my  head  in  peace,  and  de** 
sire  you  may  all  do  so.     Farewell." 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  113 

Colonel  Fletcher  having  returned  to  New  York, 
and  Thomas  Lloyd  being  dead,  the  Deputy  Go- 
vernment of  the  Province  and  Territories  was  con- 
ferred upon  William  Markham ;  for  William  Penn, 
on  hearing  of  these  events,  sent  him  a  Commission 
for  that  purpose* 


rrs 


114  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIIE 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A.  1695 — writes  "  A  Reply  to  a  pretended  Answer 
to  William  Penn^s  Key*'* — delivers  a  paper  to  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  subject  of  making  the 
Quakers*  afirmation  equal  to  their  oath — travels 
in  the  ministry — is  present  at  a  religious  dispute 
at  Melksham — preaches  at  Wells — some  curious 
particulars  during  his  stay  there — affairs  of 
Pennsylvania. 

WiLjLiAM  Penn  employed  himself  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  year  in  answering  a  pamphlet 
which  had  been  written  against  one  of  his  own 
works  that  had  appeared  in  1692.  This  production 
he  called  *'  A  Reply  to  a  pretended  Answer  by  a 
nameless  Author  to  William  Penn's  Key."  I  shall 
attempt  no  analysis  of  it,  because  its  general  con- 
tents may  be  imagined  by  referring  to  those  of  "  the 
Key,"  which  I  have  already  laid  before  the  reader. 
There  is  one  passage,  however,  in  it,  which  I  shall 
transcribe.  His  opponent  had  charged  him  with 
prevarication  in  the  late  reign,  and  with  having 
shown  an  intemperate  zeal  for  a  boundless  liberty  of 
conscience.  To  the  charge  he  replied  thus  :  "  And 
if  it  be  possible  or  worth  while  to  reconcile  him 
(my  opponent)  better  to  my  conduct,  let  him  peruse 
my  "  Great  Case  of  Liberty  of  Conscience,"  print- 
ed in  1671,  and  my  *«  Letter  to  the  States  of  Emb- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN*  115 

den,'^  1672,  and  my  *^  Present  State  of  England," 
1675,  and  he  will  find  I  was  the  same  man  then, 
and  acted  by  the  same  principles  ;  not  more  intem- 
perate in  the  reign  than  favoured  it,  than  in  the 
reign  I  contended  with  (the  preceding)  that  did  not 
favour  it.  And  no  man  but  a  Persecutor^  which  I 
count  a  beast  of  prey^  and  a  declared  enemy  to  man- 
kind^  can  without  great  injustice  or  ingratitude  re- 
proach that  part  I  had  in  King  James's  Court :  for  I 
think  I  may  say  without  vanity,  upon  this  provoca- 
tion, I  endeavoured  at  least  to  do  some  good  at  my 
own  cost,  and  would  have  done  more.  I  am  very 
sure  I  intended,  and  I  think  I  did,  harm  to  none, 
neither  parties  nor  private  persons,  my  own  family 
excepted  ;  for  which  I  doubt  not  this  author's  par- 
don, since  he  shows  himself  so  little  concerned  for 
the  master  of  it." 

About  this  time  the  Quakers  petitioned  Parlia- 
ment for  an  Act  to  make  their  affirmation  equal  to 
their  oath.  William  Penn  was  appointed  to  act  for 
them  on  this  occasion.  U'his  he  did  by  appearing  at 
the  House  of  Commons,  and  by  delivering  there  the 
following  paper : 

"  That  the  request  of  the  people  called  Quakers 
may  be  indulged  by  the  Members  of  this  Honoura- 
ble House,  it  is  humbly  proposed  to  them  to  consi- 
der the  nature  and  fulness  of  the  security  they  offer; 
and,  if  it  be  found  to  amount  to  the  weight  and  value 
of  an  oath,  it  is  hoped  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
accepting  it  in  lieu  of  an  oath. 


116  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LITE 

"  The  pledge,  that  every  man  upon  oath  gives  of 
his  truth,  is  his  soul.  He  means,  that  God  should 
deal  with  him  according  to  the  truth  of  his  affirma- 
tive or  negative  given  by  him  in  the  name  of  God. 
Now  to  show  that  the  said  people  do  as  much  ;  that 
is,  that  they  pledge  their  souls  too  in  their  way ;  that 
they  mean  the  same  caution  with  them  that  swear  ; 
and  are  under  the  same  reverence  in  their  simple 
^nd  solemn  aye  or  no ;  and  therefore  give  the  same 
security ;  I  shall  beg  this  Honourable  House  to  con- 
sider three  things. 

"  First,  this  people  make  it  an  article  of  their 
faith  and  practice,  and  a  great  part  of  their  charac- 
teristic, not  to  swear  at  all.  They  think,  whether 
mistaken  or  not,  that  the  righteousness  of  Christi- 
anity does  not  need  or  use  an  oath ;  so  that  you  have 
their  religion  in  the  highest  exercises  of  it  in  human 
affairs  for  your  security. 

^'  Secondly,  they  have  often  and  at  very  dear  rates 
proved  to  the  world  they  mean  what  they  say,  since 
they  have  frequently  chosen  to  lose  their  estates,  and 
lie  and  die  in  gaol,  rather  than  save  the  one  or  deli- 
ver themselves  from  the  other  by  deviating  from 
their  principle  :  and  since,  in  such  cases,  integrity  is 
the  security  all  aim  at,  it  is  hard  to  conceive  which 
way  any  man  can  give  a  greater:  nor  are  they  so  in- 
sensible as  not  to  know  that  untruth  in  them,  after 
this  great  indulgence,  is  a  more  aggravated  crime 
than  perjury  in  others,  since  they  excuse  themselves 
from  not  swearing  by  a  profession  of  an  exacter 
simplicity  and  greater  strictness. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  117 

"  Lastly,  they  humbly  hope  that,  being  to  suffer 
for  untruth  as  for  perjury,  their  request  will  not  be 
uneasy,  since  they  subject  their  integrity  to  trial 
upon  the  hazard  of  a  conviction  that  is  so  much 
greater  than  the  offence  in  the  eye  of  the  law  would 
bear.  Let  them  then,  we  pray,  speak  in  their  own 
way,  and,  if  false,  be  punished  in  yours.  And 
since  this  Honourable  House  has  testified  an  excel- 
ling zeal  to  secure  the  rights  and  privileges  of  that 
great  body  they  represent,  these  inferior  members, 
with  all  due  respect,  claiming  a  relation  to  it,  request 
that  they  may  not  be  left  exposed  in  theirs,  but  that 
by  your  wisdom  and  goodness  they  may  be  provid- 
ed for  in  true  proportion  to  the  exigencies  they  are 
under  ;  which  will  engage  them  in  the  best  wishes 
for  your  prosperities." 

Soon  after  this  he  travelled  as  in  the  former  year 
in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  We  first  trace  him  at 
a  meeting  at  Henley  upon  Thames.  From  thence 
he  passed  into  Wiltshire.  While  he  was  at  Melk- 
sham,  a  dispute  was  held  between  John  Plympton,  a 
Baptist,  and  John  Clark  of  Bradford  on  the  part  of 
the  Quakers,  in  the  court-yard  belonging  to  Tho- 
mas Beaven's  house.  The  Baptist  had  challenged 
the  Quakers  to  a  public  conference  on  five  subjects  : 
the  Universality  of  Grace,  Baptism,  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, Perfection,  and  the  Resurrection.  Clark  is 
said  to  have  answered  the  objections  of  Plympton 
notably :  but  Plympton  would  not  allow  it ;  and 
though  the  auditors  were  against  him  he  continued 
to  cavil  on,  and  would  not;  be  silenced^     At  length 


118  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

evening  coming  on  William  Penn  rose  up,  and,  to 
use  the  words  of  a  spectator,  "  breaking  like  a 
thunder-storm  over  his  head  in  testimony  to  the 
people,"  who  were  numerous,  concluded  the  dis- 
pute. 

From  Melksham  he  proceeded  to  Warminster, 
and  from  thence  to  Wrington,  at  both  which  places 
he  preached  to  crowded  meetings. 

The  people  of  Wells  being  desirous  of  hearing 
him,  he  took  an  opportunity  of  going  to  that  place. 
But  here  some  arrangement  was  necessary  ;  for  the 
Bishop  was  then  there,  and  some  of  the  Magistrates 
were  unfriendly.  Accordingly  John  Whiting,  ac- 
companied by  Robert  Holder,  went  to  the  Bishop 
to  solicit  his  permission  to  assemble  the  people  for 
the  occasion.  The  Bishop  at  this  time  was  Richard 
Kidder,  the  author  of  that  excellent  work  which 
appeared  afterwards,  "  A  Demonstration  of  the 
Messias."  The  Bishop  asked  Whiting,  after  the 
latter  had  opened  his  business  to  him,  why  he  de- 
sired to  have  a  meeting  there,  seeing  there  were  no 
Quakers  in  the  town.  Whiting  told  him.  To  de- 
clare the  Truth.  He  then  asked  what  the  Quakers 
had  to  preach  more  than  they.  Whiting  replied, 
The  Grace  of  God.  The  Bishop  said,  they  preach- 
ed the  Grace  of  God  also.  Whiting  replied,  they 
might  do  so  now  and  then,  but  not,  he  apprehended, 
as  the  Quakers  did  ;  that  is,  they  did  not  direct 
their  people  to  it  as  to  that  which  bringeth  salvation 
and  hath  appeared  unto  all  men,  and  would  teach 
them  to  deny  ungodliness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  119 

live  soberly,  righteously,  and  godly  in  this  present 
world.  Soon  after  this  the  Bishop,  who  conducted 
himself  with  much  good  temper,  left  them  to  do  as 
they  pleased. 

Finding  no  opposition  from  the  Bishop,  they  ap- 
plied for  the  Market-house,  as  the  fittest  place  to 
hold  the  auditors.  They  were  promised  the  use  of 
it  the  next  day  ;  but  when  the  time  came  they  were 
forbidden  to  enter  it ;  for  some  of  the  opposite  party 
in  the  town,  who  had  been  drinking  Colonel  Berk- 
ley's election-ale  the  day  before,  had  turned  the 
clerk  of  the  market  against  them.  They  resolved 
therefore,  with  the  consent  of  the  landlord,  to  make 
use  of  the  Crown  Inn,  where  they  had  put  up,  which 
had  a  large  room  and  a  balcony  facing  the  Market- 
place. Bat  finding,  on  looking  over  the  late  Act  of 
Toleration,  that  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  certificate 
that  they  intended  to  hold  a  religious  meeting  there, 
they  drew  up  the  same,  and  the  same  persons  went 
with  it  to  the  Bishop  as  before.  He  received  them, 
as  before,  in  a  friendly  manner.  John  Whiting  in- 
formed him  of  what  the  Act  required.  The  Bishop 
said  he  would  look  at  the  Act ;  and,  if  it  really  re- 
quired, he  would  certainly  send  them,  a  certificate. 

By  this  time  the  Market-house  was  full  of  people^ 
who  had  broken  into  it ;  but  John  Whiting  and 
others  desired  them  to  come  out  of  it,  and  to  place 
themselves  before  the  balcony  of  the  inn  in  the  street. 
This  they  did  to  the  number  of  between  two  and 
three  thousand.     The  Quakers  in  the  mean  time 


120  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

occupied  the  great  room  in  the  inn.  After  this  ar- 
rangement William  Pcnn  came  forward  to  the  bal- 
cony and  began  to  preach  :  but  in  the  midst  of  his 
discourse  a  constable  and  other  officers  came  with  a 
warrant  signed  by  Matthew  Baron,  Mayor,  and 
William  Salmon,  Justice;  and,  breaking  through 
the  people,  forced  their  way  into  the  great  room  of 
the  inn,  and  then  into  the  balcony,  and  seized  Wil- 
liam Penn,  whom  they  hurried  away  before  the  Ma- 
gistrates. These,  however,  did  not  detain  him  long ; 
for  finding,  upon  examination,  that  the  house  had 
been  certified  by  the  Bishop,  and  that  by  disturbing 
a  lawful  assembly  they  had  overshot  their  mark, 
they  excused  themselves  as  well  as  they  could,  and 
dismissed  him  ;  *'  having  done  just  enough,"  says 
one  of  the  old  writerafcof  his  Life,  "  to  manifest  the 
keenness  of  their  stomachs  for  the  old  work  of  de- 
vouring, in  that  they  could  not  refrain  from  whet- 
ting their  teeth  again,  after  the  Act  of  Toleration 
had  blunted  them."  After  this  the  Quakers  hired 
a  house  at  Wells,  in  which,  having  obtained  a  li- 
cence for  it  according  to  law^,  William  Penn  preach- 
ed without  further  molestation,  and  in  which  seve- 
ral meetings  were  afterwards  held  by  the  same 
people. 

William  Penn,  having  staid  his  time  at  Wells, 
travelled  to  other  places  in  the  county,  holding  meet- 
ings for  worship  almost  daily  as  he  went  along ; 
when  at  length  he  proceeded  to  Bristol,  a  place 
where  he  had  so  frequently  exercised  his  gift  in  the 


or   V7tL'LlAJ>l   PENN.  121 

same  way.  Here  he  remained  some  time.  After 
this  he  went  to  London,  and  from  thence  made  the 
best  of  his  way  to  his  family  at  Worminghiirst  in 
Sussex. 

With  respect  to  his  American  affairs  but  little 
occurs  for  mention  in  the  present  year.  On  the 
twenty-sixth  of  March,  Markham  as  Deputy  Go- 
vernor issued  a  writ  for  the  election  of  a  new  Pro- 
vincial Council,  consisting  as  before  of  three,  and  of 
a  new  Assembly  consisting  of  six  persons,  for  each 
County.  The  Council  so  elected  met  on  the  twen- 
tieth of  April,  and  the  Assembly  on  the  tenth  ot 
September.  At  this  assembly  he  renewed  the  ap- 
plication of  Fletcher  for  more  money  on  the  ground 
of  the  Queen's  letter.  The  Jj^embly  took  the  sub- 
ject into  consideration,  anali^ted  an  assessment, 
but  specified  the  manner  of  its  appropriation  as  be- 
fore. To  the  Bill,  however,  which  they  passed  for 
this  purpose,  they  joined  another,  entitled  A  new 
Act  of  Settlement,  by  \vhich  the  Council  was  to  con* 
sist  of  only  two  Members  instead  of  three,  and  the 
Assembly  of  only  four  instead  of  six,  for  each 
County,  and  by  which  certain  fundamental  liberties 
were  to  be  confirmed  to'  them.  These  Bills  they 
presented  to  Markham  for  his  sanction ;  but,  in- 
stead  of  giving  it,  he  dissolved  both  the  Council  and 
the  Assembly  in  an  abrupt  manner,  and  to  the  sur- 
prise not  only  of  the  Members  of  both,  but  of  the 
whole  Province. 

VOL.  II.  M 


122  MEMOIRS    01'    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A.  1696— warri^5  a  second  time — loses  his  eldest 
son — zurites  an  account  of  his  sayings  and  beha- 
viour during  his  sickness^  and  of  his  character — 
writes  also  ^^  Primitive  Christianity  revived^^ — 
analysis  of  the  work — also  "  More  Work  for  G. 
KeitK'^ — visits  the  Czar  of  Muscovy  then  in  Eng- 
land— impression  made  uppn  the  latter— affairs  of 
Pennsylvania. 

WrLLiAM  Penn  having  obtained,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  fljfekers,  a  certificate  from  his 
own  monthly  meeti^,  which  was  then  held  at 
Horsham  in  Sussex,  that  he  was  clear  from  Wl  other 
engagements,  went  down  to  Bristol  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  month  of  March  to  solemnize  a  second 
marriage.  He  had  long  felf  an  extraordinary  es- 
teem for  Hannah,  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Callow- 
hill,  and  grand-daughter  of  Dennis  HoUister,  both 
eminent  merchants  of  th^t  city,  and  both  of  whom 
had  joined  the  religious  S&ciety  of  the  Quakers.  It 
was  with  her  that  he  entered  into  the  union  now 
mentioned. 

But,  alas,  how  short-lived  frequently,  and  how 
uncertain  always,  are  our  prospects  !  How  nearly 
dwell  together  our  pleasures  and  our  pains !  But  a 
few  weeks  after  he  had  brought  his  new  married 
wife  home,  he  lost  his  eldest  son.     The  latter. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  123 

indeed,  had  been  for  some  time  in  a  decline,  and 
therefore  this  his  untimel}^  end  had  in  all  proba- 
bility been  expected.  But  he  was  a  youth  of  high 
attainments  and  most  amiable  and  engaging  man- 
ners. He  had  been  looked  up  to  with  great  reason 
as  a  child  of  promise.  He  had  passed  his  twentieth 
year.  The  expectation,  therefore,,  of  his  decease, 
though  it  might  have  prepared  his  relatives  for  it, 
did  not  lessen  the  affliction  of  losing  him.  An 
event,  which  cut  olT  so  much  genius  and  virtue  in 
their  bloom,  though  consolatory  in  looking  towards 
a  future  life,  must  have  involved  his  family  in 
sorrow. 

William  Penn  had  attended  his  son  regularly  in 
his  illness,  saving  the  timdBK  was  absent  on  his 
marriage,  for  the  last  thr^JPPbnths.  He  was  his 
nurse  and  comforter.  He  received  his  head,  when 
dying,  in  his  own  bosom,  as  he  had  done  that  of  his 
mother,  and  witnessed  his  departing  breath.  And 
as  of  her  he  gave  a  memorial  to  the  world,  which 
embraced  the  interesting  scenes  of  her  last  mo- 
ments;  so,  with  the  like  hallowed  view,  he  did  the 
same  with  respect  to  l^  son.  This  memorial, 
though  it  be  of  some  len^P,  I  cannot  withhold  from 
the  reader :  for  it  shows,  first,  the  pious  way  in 
which  he  trained  up  his  children  ;  and,  secondly, 
the  tender  manner  in  which  he  effected  it ;  because^ 
while  he  always  enforced  his  authority  as  a  parent,^ 
it  appears  that  he  held  an  eminent  place  in  their  af- 
fections. It  shov/s  too  the  pov/er  of  religion  on  the 
mind  ;  how  even  youth  itself  may  be  made  capable 


124  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

of  attaining  the  highest  wisdom ;  how  it  may  be 
brought,  gay  and  inconsiderate  as  it  is,  to  a  state  of 
patience  and  resignation  under  suffering ;  and  even 
to  look  upon  affliction,  as  a  state  which  may  be  so 
sanctified  as  to  be  reckoned  among  our  blessings. 
To  the  memorial  he  prefixed  these  words  :  "Sor- 
row and  Joy  in  the  Loss  and  End  of  Springett 
Penn.'^ 

"My  very  dear  child,"  says  he,  "and  eldest  son, 
Springett  Penn,  did  from  his  childhood  manifest  a 
disposition  to  goodness,  and  gave  me  hope  of  a 
more  than  ordinary  capacity  ;  and  time  satisfied  me 
in  both  respects.  For,  besides  a  good  share  of 
learning  and  mathematical  knowledge,  he  showed  a 
judgment  in  the  uJBSSnd  application  of  it  much 
above  his  years.  He  had  the  seeds  of  many  good 
qualities  rising  in  him,  that  made  him  beloved  and 
consequently  lamented ;  but  especially  his  humility, 
plainness,  and  truth,  with  a  tenderness  and  softness 
of  nature,  which,  if  I  may  say  it,  were  an  improve- 
ment upon  his  other  good  qualities.  But  though 
these  were  no  security  against  sickness  and  death, 
vet  they  went  a  good  w^  to  facilitate  a  due  pre- 
paration for  them.  An(^ndeed  the  good  ground 
that  was  in  him  showed  itself  vtry  plainly  some 
time  before  his  illness.  For  more  than  half  a  year 
before  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  visit  him  with  v/eak- 
ness,he  grew  more  retired,  and  much  disengaged 
from  youthful  delights,  showing  a  remarkable  ten- 
derness in  meetings,  even  when  they  were  silent: 
but  Avhen  he  sav/  himself  doubtful  as  to  his  re- 


or    WILLIAM    fENN.  125 

covery,  he  turned  his  mind  and  meditations  more 
apparently  towards  the  Lord,  secretly,  as  also  when 
his  attendants  were  in  the  room,  praying  often  with 
great  fervency  to  him,  and  uttering  very  many 
thankful  expressions  and  praises  to  him,  in  a  very- 
deep  and  sensible  manner.  One  day  he  said  to  us, 
*•  I  am  resigned  to  what  God  pleaseth.  He  knows 
what  is  best.  I  would  live,  if  it  pleased  him,  that  I 
might  serve  him  ;  but,  O  Lord,  not  my  will,  but 
thine  be  done !' 

"  A  person  speaking  to  him  of  the  things  of  this 
world,  and  what  might  please  him  when  recovered, 
he  answered,  '  My  eye  looks  another  way,  where 
the  truest  pleasure  is.'  When  he  told  me  he  had 
rested  well,  and  I  said  it  |gk^  mercy  to  him,  he 
quickly  replied  upon  me  4|Pra  serious  yet  sweet 
look,  ^  All  is  mercy,  dear  father ;  every  thing  is 
mercy.'  Another  time  when  I  went  to  meeting,  at 
parting  he  said,  '  Remember  me,  my  dear  father, 
before  the  Lord.  Though  I  cannot  go  to  meetings, 
yet  I  have  many  good  meetings.  The  Lord  comes 
in  upon  my  spirit.  I  have  heavenly  meetings  v/ith 
him  by  myself.' 

"  Not  many  days  beflBc  he  died,  the  Lord  ap= 
pearing  by  his  holy  power  upon  his  spirit,  when 
alone,  at  my  return,  asking  him  how  he  did,  he  told 
me,  '  O,  I  have  had  a  sweet  time,  a  blessed  time  ! 
great  enjoyments !  The  power  of  the  Lord  over- 
came my  soul :  a  sweet  time  indeed  !' 

"  And  telling  him  bow  some  of  the  gentry,  who 
had  been  to  visit  him,  were  gone  to  their  games  and 
M2 


126  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

sports  and  pleasures,  and  how  little  consideration 
the  children  of  men  had  of  God  and  their  latter  end, 
und  how  much  happier  he  was  in  this  weakness  to 
have  been  otherwise  educated  and  preserved  from 
those  temptations  to  vanity,  he  answered,  '  It  is  all 
stuff,  my  dear  father :   it  is   sad  stuff..     O  that  I 

might  live  tell  them  so  !' '  Well,  my  dear  child,' 

I  replied,  *  let  this  be  the  time  of  thy  entering  into 
secret  covenant  with  God,  that,  if  he  raise  thee, 
thou  wilt  dedicate  thy  youth,  strength,  and  life  to 
him  and  his  people  and  service.'  He  returned, 
'  Father,  that  is  not  now  to  do,  it  is  not  now  to  do,' 
with  great  tenderness  upon  his  spirit. 

*^  Being  ever  almost  near  him,  and  doing  any 
thing  for  him  he  ^fltt|^d  or  desired,  he  broke  out 
with  much  sense  afl^Rove,  '  My  dear  father,  if  I 
live,  I  will  make  thee  amends  ;'  and  speaking  to 
him  of  divine  enjoyments,  that  the  eye  of  man  saw 
not,  but  the  soul  made  alive  by  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
plainly  felt,  he,  in  a  lively  remembrance,  cried  out, 
*  O,  I  had  a  sweet  time  yesterday  by  myself !  The 
Lord  hath  preserved  me  to  this  day.  Blessed  be 
his  name  !  My  soul  prai^s  him  for  his  mercy.  O 
father,  it  is  of  the  goodiiBs  of  the  Lord  that  I  am 
so  well  as  I  am.'  Fixing  his  eyes  upon  his  sister, 
he  took  her  by  the  hand,  saying,  '  Poor  Tishe,  look 
to  good  things!  Poor  child,  there  is  no  comfort 
without  it!  One  drop  of  the  love  of  God  is  worth 
more  than  all  the  world.  I  know  it.  I  have  tasted 
it.  I  have  felt  as  much  or  more  of  the  love  of  God 
in  this  weakness  than  in  all  my  life  before.'     At 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN*  127 

another  time  as  I  stood  by  him  he  looked  up  upon 
me,  and  said,  '  Dear  father,  sit  by  me!  I  love  thy 
company,  and  I  know  thou  lovest  mine  ;  and,  if  it  be 
the  Lord's  will  that  we  must  part,  be  not  troubled, 
for  that  will  trouble  me.' 

''Taking  something  one  night  in  bed  just  before 
his  going  to  rest,  he  sat  up  and  fervently  prayed 
thus:  'O  Lord  God!  Thou,  whose  Son  said  to  his 
disciples.  Whatever  ye  ask  in  my  name  ye  shall  re- 
ceive, I  pray  thee  in  his  name  bless  this  to  me  this 
night,  and  give  me  rest,  if  it  be  thy  blessed  will!' 
And  accordingly  he  had  a  very  comfortable  night, 
of  which  he  took  a  thankful  notice  before  us  next 
day. 

''  And  when  he  at  one  tim^fcLmore  than  ordinarily 
expressed  a  desire  to  live,  ana  entreated  me  to  pray 
for  him,  he  added,  '  And,  dear  father,  if  the  Lord 
should  raise  me,  and  enable  me  to  serve  him  and 
his  people,  then  I  might  travel  with  thee  sometimes, 
and  we  might  ease  one  another^'  (meaning  in  the 
ministry).  He  spoke  this  with  great  modesty; 
upon  which  I  said  to  him,  'My  dear  child,  if  it 
please  the  Lord  to  raise  thee,  I  am  satisfied  it  will 
be  so ;  and  if  not,  then,  inasmuch  as  it  is  thy  fervent 
desire  in  the  Lord,  he  will  look  upon  thee  just  as  if 
thou  didst  live  to  serve  him,  and  thy  comfort  v/ill 
be  the  same.  So  either  way  it  will  be  well :  for,  if 
thou  should  St  not  live,  I  do  verily  believe  thou  wilt 
have  the  recompense  of  thy  good  desires,  without 
the  temptations  and  troubles  that  would  attend  if 
long  life  were  granted  to  thee.' 


128  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFR 

"  Saying  one  day  thus,  *  I  am  resolved  I  will 
have  such  a  thing  done,'  he  immediately  corrected 
himself,  and  fell  into  this  reflection  with  much  con- 
trition, *  Did  I  say,  I  will  ?  O  Lord,  forgive  me 
that  irreverent  and  hasty  expression!  I  am  a  poor 
weak  creature,  and  live  by  Thee,  and  therefore  I 
should  have  said,  If  it  pleaseth  Thee  that  I  live,  I 
intend  to  do  so.  Lord,  forgive  my  rash  expres- 
sion !' 

"  Seeing  my  present  wife  ready  to  be  helpful  and 
to  do  any  thing  for  him,  he  turned  to  her  and  said, 
*  Do  not  thou  do  so.  Let  them  do  it.  Don't  trou- 
ble thyself  so  much  for  such  a  poor  creature  as  I 
am.'  And  taking  leave  of  him  a  few  nights  before 
his  end,  he  said  to  ^^  'Pray  for  me,  dear  mother! 
Thou  art  good  and  mnocent.  It  may  be  the  Lord 
may  hear  thy  prayers  for  me  ;  for  I  desire  my 
strength  again,  that  I  may  live  and  employ  it  more 
in  his  service.' 

"  Two  or  three  days  before  his  departure  he 
called  his  brother  to  him^and,  looking  awfully  upon 
him,  said,  '  Be  a  good  boy,  and  know  that  there  is 
a  God,  a  great  and  mighty  God,  who  is  a  rewarder 
of  the  righteous,  and  so  he  is  of  the  wicked,  but 
their  rewards  are  not  the  same.  Have  a  care  of 
idle  people  and  idle  company,  and  love  good  com- 
pany and  good  Friends,  and  the  Lord  will  bless 
thee.  I  have  seen  good  things  for  thee  since  my 
sickness,  if  thou  dost  but  fear  the  Lord  :  and  if  I 
should  not  live  (though  the  Lord  is  all-sufficient), 
remember  what  I  say  to  thee,  when  I  am  dead  and 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN*  129 

gone.  Poor  child,  the  Lord  bless  thee  !  Come  and 
kiss  me  !'  which  melted  us  all  into  great  tenderness, 
but  his  brother  more  particularly. 

"  Many  good  exhortations  he  gave  to  some  of  the 
servants  and  others  that  came  to  see  him,  who  were 
not  of  our  communion,  as  well  as  to  those  who 
were,  which  drew  tears  from  their  eyes. 

'^  The  day  but  one  before  he  died  he  went  to  take 
the  air  in  a  coach,  but  said  at  his  return,  '  Really, 
father,  I  am  exceeding  weak.  Thou  canst  not 
think  how  weak  I  am.' '  My  dear  child,'  I  re- 
plied, ^  thou  art  weak,  but  God  is  strong,  who  is  the 

strength  of  thy  life.' ^  Aye,  that  is  it,'  said  he, 

^  which  upholdeth  me.'  And  the  day  before  he  de- 
parted, being  alone  with  him,  he  desired  me  to 
fasten  the  door,  and,  looking  earnestly  upon  me, 
said,  '  Dear  father  !  thou  art  a  dear  father  ;  and  I 
know  thy  Father.  Come,  let  us  two  have  a  little 
meeting,  a  private  ejaculation  together,  now  nobody 
else  is  here.  O,  my  soul  is  sensible  of  the  love  of 
God!'  And,  indeed,  a  sweet  time  v/e  had.  It 
was  like  to  precious  ointment  for  his  burial. 

^^  He  desired,  if  he  were  not  to  live,  that  he 
might  go  home  to  die  there,  and  we  made  prepara- 
tion for  it,  being  twenty  miles  from  my  house  ;  and 
so  much  stronger  was  his  spirit  than  his  body,  that 
he  spoke  of  going  next  day,  which  was  the  morning 
he  departed,  and  a  symptom  it  was  of  his  greater 
journey  to  his  longer  home.  The  morning  he  left 
us,  growing  more  and  more  sensible  of  his  extreme 
weakness,  he  asked  me,  as  doubtful  of  himself, 


130  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

*  How  shall  I  go  homer'  I  told  him,  In  a  coach. 
He  answered, '  I  am  best  in  a  coach ;'  but  observing 
his  decay,  I  said,  '  Why,  child,  thou  art  at  home 

every  where.' '  Aye,'  said  he,  '  so  I  am  in  the 

Lord.'  I  took  that  opportunity  to  ask  him,  if  I 
should  remember  his  love  to  his  friends  at  Bristol 
and  London.  '  Yes,  yes,'  said  he,  *  my  love  in  the 
Lord,  my  love  to  all  friends  in  the  Lord  and  rela- 
tions too.'  He  said,  '  Aye,  to  be  sure.'  Being 
asked  if  he  would  have  his  ass's  milk  or  eat  any 
thing,  he  answered,  '  No  more  outward  food,  but 
heavenly  food  is  provided  for  me.'  * 

"  His  time  drawing  on  apace,  he  said  to  me, 
'  My  dear  father,  kiss  me !  Thou  art  a  dear  fa- 
ther. I  desire  to  prize  it.  How  can  I  make  thee 
amends  ?' 

"  He  also  called  his  sister,  and  said  to  her,  'Poor 
child,  come  and  kiss  me!'  between  whom  seemed  a 
tender  and  long  parting.  I  sent  for  his  brother, 
that  he  might  kiss  him  too  ;  which  he  did.  All 
were  in  tears  about  him.  Turning  his  head  to  me, 
he  said  softly,  '  Dear  father!  hast  thou  no  hope  for 
me  r'  I  answered,  '  My  dear  child  !  I  am  afraid  to 
hope,  and  I  dare  not  despair,  but  am  and  have  been 
resigned,  though  one  of  the  hardest  lessons  I  ever 
learned.'  He  paused  awhile,  and  with  a  composed 
frame  of  mind  he  said,  '  Come  life,  come  death,  I 
am  resigned.  O,  the  love  of  God  overcomes  my 
soul !'  Feeling  himself  decline  apace,  and  seeing 
him  not  able  to  bring  up  the  matter  that  was  in  his 
throat,  somebody  fetched  the  Doctor  ;  but  as  soon 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  131 

as  he  came  in  he  said,  '  Let  my  father  speak  to  the 
Doctor,  and  I'll  go  to  sleep ;'  which  he  did,  and  wa- 
ked no  more  ;  breathing  his  last  on  my  breast  the 
tenth  day  of  the  second  month,  between  the  hours 
of  nine  and  ten  in  the  morning,  1696,  in  his  one- 
and-twentieth  year. 

"  So  ended  the  life  of  my  dear  child  and  eldest 
son,  much  of  my  comfort  and  hope,  and  one  of  the 
most  tender  and  dutiful  as  well  as  ingenious  and  vir- 
tuous youths  I  knew,  if  I  may  say  so  of  my  own 
dear  child,  in  whom  I  lost  all  that  any  father  could 
lose  in  a  child,  since  he  was  capable  of  any  thing 
that  became  a  sober  young  man,  my  friend  and 
companion  as  well  as  most  affectionate  and  dutiful 
child. 

"  May  this  loss  and  end  have  its  due  weight  and 
impression  upon  all  his  dear  relations  and  friends, 
and  upon  those  to  whose  hands  this  account  may 
come,  for  their  remembrance,  and  preparation  for 
their  great  and  last  change,  and  I  have  my  end  in 
making  my  dear  child's  thus  far  public. 

''  William  Penn." 

William  Penn  was  but  little  from  home  during 
the  present  year.  Indeed  his  domestic  situation 
did  not  allow  him.  He  was,  however,  not  unem- 
ployed. One  effort,  the  produce  of  his  contempla- 
tive hours,  appeared  in  the  publication  of  ^'  Primi- 
tive Christianity  revived  in  the  Faith  and  Practice 
of  the  People  called  Quakers,  written  in  Testimony 
to  the  present  Dispensation  of  God  through  them  to 
the  World,  that  Prejudices  may  be  removed,  the 


132  MEMOIRS    or    THK    LIFE 

Simple  informed,  the  Well-inclined  encouraged, 
and  Truth  and  its  innocent  Friends  rightly  repre- 
sented." This  book  contained  a  summary  of  the 
faith  and  practice  of  the  Quakers,  in  which  he  threw 
new  light  upon  some  points  which  he  had  before 
handled.  I  submit  to  the  reader  the  following  con- 
cise analysis  of  its  contents. 

He  began  by  stating  their  grand   fundamental 

principle  ;  namely,  the  Light  of  Christ  in  man. 

Its  nature  was  divine ;  that  is,  though  in  man,  yet 

not  of  man,  but  of  God. He  quoted  the  evidence 

of  Scripture  for  this  principle  and  its  various  names 
— for  its  divinity — for  the  creation  of  all  things  by 

it. It  produced  salvation,  being  life  as  well  as 

light  to  men. He  proposed  and  answered  three 

objections  to  the  doctrine  advanced  :  first,  that  it 
was  a  mere  natural  light ;  secondly,  that  it  lighted 
not  all ;  thirdly,  that  it  was  that  only  which  was 
taught  by  Christ  in  the  flesh  :  after  which  he  endea- 
voured to  confirm  its  divinity  and  universality  still 

further. He  expatiated  upon  the  virtue  of  this 

principle  within,  as  it  gave  discernment,  as  it  mani- 
fested God,  and  as  it  gave  light  to  the  soul. It 

v/as  the  very  ground  of  the  apostolical  message. 
—He  answered  an  objection  as  to  two  lights. — 
The  same  objection  had  been  anticipated  and  an- 
swered by  the  apostle  John. — This  principle  or 
light  was  the  same  with  the  Spirit. — This  he  at- 
tempted to  prove  from  the  properties  of  the  two 
when  compared. — He  illustrated  the  difference  be- 
tween its  manifestation  and  operation  in  Gospel- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  13ii 

times,  but  not  in  principle. He  took  into  consi- 
deration several  other  objections  against  it,  among 
which  were — that,  if  men  had  always  had  it,  how 
came  it  that  Gospel-truths  were  not  known  before 
Christ's  coming  ? — that,  allowing  the  Jews  to  have 
had  it,  it  did  not  follow  that  the  Gentiles  had  it  also 
— and  that,  if  it  were  one  principle,  why  were  there 
so  many  shapes  aim  modes  of  religion,  both  hea- 
then,  patriarchal,  agd  Christian,  since  the  world  be- 
gan ? He  went  into  the  origin  of  idolatry.—— 

He  contended  that  this  principle  was  the  best  anti- 
dote against  it — and  that  it  was  the.  only  one  by 
which  man  could  know  or  become  the  image  of  God* 
He  laid  down  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  doc- 
trine of  satisfaction  and  justification  according  to 

the  Scriptures. The  Quakers  believed  in  this 

doctrine  as  he  had  then  explained  it,  but  not  as  per- 
verted by  many  others. They  owned  Christ  as 

a  sacrifice  and  a  mediator. Justification  was  two- 
fold ;  first  from  guilt,  and  secondly  from  the  pollu- 

tion  of  sin. They  believed,  not  mystically,  but 

substantially  and  really,  the  coming  of  Christ  in  the 
flesh. — This  creed  was  no  objection  to  a  belief  of 
his  spiritual  appearance  in  the  soul. — Men  could  not 
be  saved  by  their  belief  of  the  one  without  the  sense 
and  experience  of  the  other  ;  that  is,  they  could  not 
be  saved  by  Christ  without  them,  while  they  reject- 
ed his  work  and  power  within  them,  giving  them- 

selves  up  to  evil  ways.- The  true  worship  of  God 

consisted  of  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  and  Truth  in 
the  inward  parts. — The  true  ministry  proceeded 

VOL.  II.  N 


134  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

from  the  same  source. — The  true  ministers  ot 
Christ  were  his  witnesses,  who  spoke  what  they 
knew,  having  passed  from  a  degenerate  to  a  re- 
deemed state. — They  were  known  again,  because, 
having  received  freely,  they  preached  freely,  that  is, 
without  cost  to  their  hearers. After  this  he  spe- 
cified what  customs  the  Quakers  could  not  consci- 
entiously adopt,  with  their  reftons  for  rejecting 
them  ;  but,  as  most  of  these  have  been  mentioned 
before,  it  seems  unnecessary  to  repeat  them. 

About  this  time  George  Keith,  who  had  made 
such  a  disturbance  among  the  Quakers  in  Pennsyl- 
vania and  the  Territories,  and  who  had  since  arriv- 
ed in  England,  began  to  have  recourse  to  his  old 
practice  of  fomenting  disputation  and  strife.  An- 
gry at  having  been  disgraced  by  their  disownment 
of  him,  he  turned  all  his  ill  will  against  them.  He 
had  gained  on  his  return  a  few  adherents,  and  with 
these  he  held  separate  meetings  at  Turners'-hall  in 
London,  where  he  challenged  the  Quakers  to  dis- 
pute with  him  on  the  subject  of  religion.  Williani 
Penn  was  much  grieved  by  his  conduct,  and,  being 
able  no  longer  to  bear  it,  he  wrote  a  little  book, 
which  he  called  "  More  Work  for  George  Keith." 
In  the  preface  to  it  he  described  the  man,  as  it  was 
then  said,  aptly,  and  his  restless  and  factious  spirit ; 
and  in  the  body  of  it  he  took  pains  to  refute  the  lies 
which  he  then  propagated,  by  transcribing  pas- 
sages from  his  former  works,  in  which  the  man  him- 
self had  vindicated  the  Quakers  in  the  very  points 
on  which  he  was  then  condemning  them. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  135 

In  this  year  William  Penn  paid  a  visit  to  the  Czar 
of  Muscovy,  afterwards  called  Peter  the  Great,  the 
founder  of  the  Russian  empire,  who  was  then  in 
England.  The  Czar  worked  at  this  time,  as  a  com- 
mon shipwright,  in  the  King's  dock -yard  at  Dept- 
ford,  in  order  that  he  might  know  the  art  of  ship- 
building practically,  and  thus  lay  the  foundation  of 
a  Russian  navy.  When  he  chose  to  relax  for  awhile, 
he  went  to  London,  where  he  had  a  large  house  at 
the  bottom  of  York-buildings.  Here  Prince  Men- 
zikoff  was  stationed,  as  well  to  receiv^e  him  as  to 
accompany  him  when  he  visited  the  Nobility  or 
when  he  went  to  Court.  As  it  was  rumoured  that 
the  Czar  resided  here,  Gilbert  Molleson  and  Tho- 
mas Story,  two  respectable  Quakers,  went  and 
gained  access  to  him,  and  conversed  with  him,  by 
means  of  an  interpreter,  on  the  subject  of  their  reli- 
gion. They  presented  him  also  with  Barclay's  Apo- 
logy, in  Latin,  and  other  books.  The  Czar  in- 
quired, by  means  of  the  same  interpreter,  whether 
the  books  were  not  written  by  a  Jesuit.  He  was 
also  curious  to  know  two  things ;  first,  why  the  Qua- 
kers did  not  pay  respect  to  great  persons,  when  in 
their  presence,  by  taking  off  their  hats  ;  and,  se- 
condly, of  what  use  they  could  be  in  any  kingdom, 
seeing  they  would  not  bear  arms  and  fight.  This 
conversation,  with  other  particulars,  having  trans- 
pired, and  it  being  afterwards  understood  that  the 
Czar  knew  nothing  of  Latin,  but  only  his  own 
tongue  and  High  Dutch,  William  Penn  felt  a  parti- 
cular desire  to  see  him.  Accordingly^he  waited  upon 


136  MEMOIRS   OF   THE   LIIE 

him,  accompanied  by  George  Whitehead  dnd  others* 
He  took  several  books  with  him,  explanatory  of 
the  principles  of  his  own  Society,  which  had  been 
translated  some  years  before  into  the  High  Dutch 
language.  These  he  presented  to  the  Czar,  who 
received  them  graciously.  A  conversation  ensued 
between  them  in  the  same  language,  which  William 
Penn  spoke  fluently.  The  Czar  appeared  to  be  much 
interested  by  it,  so  that  the  visit  was  satisfactory  to 
both  parties.  Indeed  he  was  so  much  impressed  by 
it,  that  afterwards,  while  he  was  at  Deptford,  he 
occasionally  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Quakers 
there,  when  he  conducted  himself  with  great  deco- 
rum and  condescension,  changing  seats,  and  sitting 
down,  and  standing  up,  as  he  could  best  accommo- 
date others.  Nor  was  this  impression  of  short  du- 
ration :  for  in  the  year  1712,  that  is,  sixteen  years 
afterwards,  when  he  was  at  Frederickstadt  in  Hol- 
stein  with  five  thousand  men  to  assist  the  Danes 
against  the  Swedes,  one  of  his  first  inquiries  was, 
whether  there  were  any  Quakers  in  the  place  ;  and 
being  told  there  were,  he  signified  his  intention  of 
attending  one  of  their  meetings.  A  meeting  was 
accordingly  appointed,  to  which  he  went,  accompa- 
nied by  Prince  Menzikoff,  General  Dolgorucky, 
and  several  Dukes  and  great  men.  Soon  after  they 
were  seated  the  worship  began.  Philip  Defair,  a 
Q.iaker,  rose  up  and  preached.  The  Muscovite 
Lords  showed  their  respect  by  their  silence,  but 
tht-y  understood  nothing  of  what  was  said.  To  re- 
medy this,  the  Czar  himself  occasionally  interpreted 


OF  WILLIAM    PENN.  137 

as  the  words  were  spoken ;  and  when  the  discourse 
was  over,  he  commended  it  by  raying,  that  whoever 
could  live  according  to  such  doctrines  would  be 
happy. 

We  may  now  see  what  passed  in  America  during 
the  present  year.  Markham,  it  appears,  called  the 
Assembly  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October  for  the 
dispatch  of  business.  They  met  accordingly;  but 
one  of  their  first  acts  was  to  send  him  a  remon- 
strance. They  had  met,  they  said,  to  show  their 
duty  to  the  King ;  but  he,  Markham,  following  the 
practice  of  Fletcher,  had  acted  illegally  in  his  pub- 
lic proceedings,  both  with  respect  to  them  and  the 
other  branch  of  the  legislative  body.  He  had  re- 
fused to  issue  his  writs  for  choosing  members  of  the 
Council  and  Assembly  on  the  last  charteral  day,  and 
had  moreover  discouraged  the  people  from  electing 
at  that  time.  He  had  convened  them  also  contrary 
to  former  usage.  He  had  ip  the  last  session  also 
dismissed  them  abruptly,  and  he  had  refused  to 
sanction  the  new  Act  of  Settlement,  though  it  had 
been  modelled  and  afterwards  altered  according  to 
his  wishes.  They  had  therefore  to  request  of  him 
that  he  w^ould  restore  to  them  their  ancient  rights. 

It  does  not  appear  what  reply  Markham  made 
to  this  remonstrance ;  but  in  a  short  time  afterward 
he  sent  them  a  letter,  by  means  of  their  Speaker, 
which  he  had  received  from  Governor  Fletcher 
of  New  York,  and  in  which  he,  Fletcher,  requested 
more  money  of  them  for  the  relief  of  the  Indians. 
They  returned  no  answer  to  this  3  but  instead  of 
N  2 


138  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

it  they  requested  him  to  pass  the  new  Act  of  Settle- 
ment, and  to  issue  out  his  writs  for  choosing  a  full 
number  of  representatives  to  serve  in  the  Provincial 
Council  and  Assembly  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  first 
month  next,  according  to  Charter;  adding,  that  if 
the  Proprietary  (William  Penn)  should  disapprove 
the  same,  then  this  his  act  should  be  void,  and  in  no 
way  prejudicial  either  to  him  or  the  people.  Upon 
this  a  new  Act  of  Settlement  was  prepared.  It 
provided,  among  other  things,  that  two  persons  only 
should  be  chosen  out  of  each  county  as  the  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  people  in  Council,  and  four  out  of 
each  as  their  Representatives  in  Assembly.  Thus 
the  Council  was  to  consist  in  future  of  twelve  in- 
stead of  eighteen,  and  the  Assembly  of  twenty-four 
instead  of  thirty-six.  It  provided  also  (seeing 
what  had  happened  under  Fletcher)  that  all  persons 
elected  to  Council  and  Assembly,  and  all  appointed 
to  offices  of  state  and  trust,  who  should  conscienti- 
ously scruple  to  take  an  oath, but  who,  when  lawfully 
required,  would  make  the  declaration  of  their  Chris- 
tian belief  according  to  an  Act  passed  in  the  first 
year  of  William  and  Mary,  should  be  allowed  to 
make  their  solemn  affirmation  in  lieu  thereof.  It 
enacted  again,  that  the  Assembly  should  have  power 
to  prepare  and  propose  to  the  Governor  and  Council 
all  such  Bills  as  they  or  the  major  part  of  them 
should  at  any  time  see  needful  to  be  passed  into 
Laws,  not  however  debarring  the  Governor  and 
Council  the  same  privilege ;  and  that  the  said  As- 
sembly should  sit  upon  their  own  adjournments. 


©F    WILLIAM    PENN.  13^ 

and  continue  for  public  purposes,  until  the  Governor 
and  Council  for  the  time  being  should  dismiss  them* 
The  Bill,  containing  these  and  other  provisions, 
which  conferred  such  new  and  important  privileges 
upon  the  Assembly,  having  been  prepared,  was  at 
length  brought  in.  It  was  soon  afterwards  passed 
by  Markham.  The  immediate  consequence  was, 
that  the  Assembly  on  their  part  passed  a  Bill  for 
the  money,  which  Fletcher  had  proposed  to  them 
to  raise  through  the  medium  of  the  latter :  the  sum 
was  three  hundred  pounds,  but  it  was  to  be  appro- 
priated entirely  to  the  r'^lief  of  the  distressed  Indians 
who  inhabited  the  country  above  Albany. 


140  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  X. 

A*  169r — publishes  "^  Caution  humbly  offered 
about  passing  the  Bill  against  Blasphemy*'^ — Bill 
is  dropped^-^affairs  of  Pennsylvania. 

William  Penn  after  the  death  of  his  eldest 
son  took  a  house  at  Bristol,  where  he  and  his 
family  now  resided.  We  hear  but  little  of  him 
during  the  present  year^.  We  know  of  only 
one  publication,  which  was  that  of  a  small 
paper,  and  which  he  wrote  on  the  following 
occasion : 

A  Bill  was  depending  in  the  House  of  Lords 
against  blasphemy.  William  Penn  was  of  course 
in  favour  of  any  law  which  had  in  view  such  a 
moral  end;  for,  among  those  laws  which  he  had  es- 
tablished in  Pennsylvania  and  the  Territories  there- 
unto annexed,  was  one  against  speaking  profanely 
of  God,  Christ,  the  Spirit,  or  the  Scriptures.  But 
the  object  of  this  Bill  was  very  different.  It  was  to 
make  the   denial  of  certain  ideas  relative  to  the 

*  We  only  know  that  he  rode  with  William  Edmundson  on  his 
way  to  Melksham,  and  with  James  Dickinson  on  his  way  into 
Cumberland.  It  was  his  custom,  when  ministers  of  his  own 
Society  came  to  Bristol  to  preach,  to  accompany  them  on  horse- 
back for  some  miles  out  of  the  city,  on  their  return  home,  or  on 
their  way  to  other  places. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  141 

Trinity,  as  contained  in  a  certain  formula  of  words, 
blasphemy.  The  paper  therefore,  which  he  wrote 
at  this  time,  and  which  he  afterwards  distributed 
among  the  Lords  for  their  perusal,  consisted  of  con- 
siderations on  the  subject.  He  showed,  first,  from 
the  incorrect  wording  of  the  Bill,  that  it  would  have 
but  a  partial  effect,  for  that  many  thousands  resid- 
ing in  the  kingdom  might  blaspheme,  and  yet 
escape  its  penalties.  But  he  showed  what  was  far 
more  important,  that,  where  the  Bill  would  actually 
reach  the  offenders,  it  would  open  all  the  doors  of 
Persecution,  and  occasion  mischief  to  all  classes  of 
people,  and  to  Churchmen  and  Dissenters  equally. 
If  the  Bill  were  to  cuiuiAin  a  creed,  he  hoped  that 
this  creed  would  be  given  in  the  terms  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  not  in  the  words  of  men's  own  wisdom, 
which  were  liable  to  ambiguous  interpretation. 
Thus,  for  example,  the  Bill  enacted,  that,  if  any 
educated  in  or  professing  the  Christian  religion 
within  the  realm  denied  any  of  the  persons  in  the 
holy  Trinity  to  be  God,  they  should  be  liable  to  a 
certain  punishment ;  but  he  had  rather  the  Bill 
would  enact  (if  there  must  be  a  Bill  at  all),  that  if 
any  denied  any  of  "  the  Three  that  bore  record  in 
Heaven"  to  be  God,  the  same  punishment  should 
follow :  for  many  might  believe  and  own  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  to  be  God  according 
to  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  yet  scruple  the  term 
PERSONS.  Now  A\  such,  even  Churchmen  them- 
selves,   might    be    brought    by    unprincipled    in- 


142  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

formers  under  severe  sufferings  merely  for 
words  and  terms,  when  they  sincerely  owned  the 
substance  of  the  doctrine  which  the  Bill  ap- 
proved. This  paper  is  said  to  have  made  its  im- 
pression upon  several  of  those  to  whom  it  was  ad- 
dressed. At  any  rate,  the  Bill  was  dropped  in  the 
same  session. 

With  respect  to  his  American  concerns,  I  may 
observe,  that  Markham,  having  called  the  Assem- 
bly in  the  present  year  both  at  the  proper  time  and 
according  to  the  proper  form,  laid  before  them,  as 
in  the  preceding,  a  letter  which  he  had  received 
from  Fletcher,  the  Governor  of  New  York. 
Fletcher  informed  him,  that  the  three  hundred 
pounds  sent  to  him  last  year  had  been  spent  in  con- 
tingencies, as  he  called  them,  to  feed  and  clothe  the- 
Indians  according  to  the  vote  of  that  session,  and 
requested  of  the  Assembly  further  assistance  in  the 
same  way.  The  letter  was  accordinglv  referred  to 
a  Committee,  consisting  both  of  the  Council  and 
Assembly,  for  their  answer.  The  result  was,  that 
they  thanked  the  Governor  for  his  attention 
towards  them  in  having  applied  the  money  to  the 
use  intended,  but  as  to  a  further  supply  at  present, 
they  could  not  consent  to  it.  They  urged  the  in- 
fancy, poverty,  and  incumbered  state  of  the  Pro- 
vince, as  reasons  for  not  acceding  to  his  wishes. 
At  the  same  time  they  declared  their  readiness  to 
observe  the  King's  further  commands  as  far  as 
their  abilities  and  their  religious  persuasions  would 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN,  143 

permit.  This  was  the  substance  of  their  public 
answer.  It  was  obvious,  however,  that  they  began 
to  view  the  demands  of  Fletcher  with  a  suspicious 
eye.  He  had  no  sooner  been  armed  with  public 
power  than  he  asked  them  for  money;  and,  when 
he  had  obtained  what  he  wanted,  he  asked  them 
for  more.  Thus  taxation  had  begun,  and  an  ac- 
quiescence in  the  present  demand  might  have  btfen 
to  render  it  permanent.  They  foresaw,  if  they  did 
not  immediately  attempt  to  stem  the  torrent,  that 
they  might  be  involved,  by  means  of  their  local 
connections,  in  all  the  evils  of  the  old  corrupt  and 
military  Governments,  and  that  expense  and 
misery  might  be  entailed  upon  them  for  genera- 
tions to  come.  They  had  had  a  fear  too,  that 
their  money  had  been  used,  not  to  supply  the 
Indians  with  what  they  merely  wanted,  but  to 
make  them  presents,  that  is,  to  bribe  or  entice 
them  into  a  confederacy  against  other  Indians 
engaged  by  the  French ;  thus  drawing  innocent 
people  into  the  horrors  of  the  quarrel,  and  buy- 
ing up  blood  on  one  side  to  be  expended  for 
blood  on  the  other.  Under  these  impressions, 
as  v/ell  as  under  the  consideration  that  the  colony, 
then  only  in  an  infant  state,  had  been  settled  by 
persons,  many  of  whom  were  but  in  moderate 
circumstances,  and  others  of  whom  had  borrowed 
capital  for  their  adventure,  they  thought  they 
might  be  excused,  if  they  refused  the  appiii  a- 
tion  which  had  been  made  to  them.     They  had 


144  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    Lltt 

an  expectation  also,  that  William  Penn  would 
soon  occupy  his  former  station  among  them  in 
his  own  person,  and  they  thought  it  not  impro- 
per to  suspend  their  decision  concerning  it  till 
his  return. 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  145 


CHAPTER  XI. 


A.  1698 — goes  to  Ireland  as  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel — writes  "  The  ^aker  a  Christian'^'* — mid 
"  Gospel  Truths  as  held  by  the  ^laiers^^ — 
preaches  at  Dublin^  Lambstoxvn^  Wexford^  Water- 
ford^  Clonmel^  Cork^  and  ma7iy  other  places — has 
his  horses  seized  at  Ross — incident  and  tnterviexu 
with  the  Bishop  at  Cashel — returns  to  Bristol — 
writes  "  Gospel  Truths  defended  against  the 
Bishop  of  Cork'^s  Exceptions'^^ — goes  to  London  to 
take  leave  of  adventurers  to  Pennsylvania  in  the 
ship  Providence — returns  to  Bristol — writes 
"  Truth  of  God  as  professed  by  the  People  called 
fakers.'' 

William  Penn  began  now  to  think  seriously  of 
returning  to  America  ;  but  it  was  necessary  that  he 
should  first  settle  his  private  affairs.  He  had  a 
large  estate  in  Ireland,  which  he  had  formerly 
superintended,  and  which  he  was  desirous  of  visit- 
ing again.  He  felt  himself  also  particularly  called 
upon  to  work  once  more  as  a  religious  labourer  in 
the  vineyard  there.  Accordingly,  taking  leave  of 
his  family,  he  proceeded  to  Holy-head.  Here  he 
met  by  appointment  Thomas  Story  and  John 
Everott,  two  other  ministers  of  the  Gospel  belong- 
ing to  his  own  Society.     These  now  joimng  hini, 

VOL.  II.  O 


146  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LITE 

they  embarked  in  the  same  vessel,  and  pursued  their 
intended  course. 

When  they  arrived  at  Dublin  it  was  the  time  of 
the  half-yearly  meeting  of  the  Quakers.  Meetings 
for  worship  were  usually  held  at  this  season,  and 
they  were  generally  well  attended,  not  only  by 
members  of  the  Society  but  by  others.  But  when 
it  was  known  that  William  Penn  had  arrived,  and 
that  he  was  likely  to  come  forth  among  the  preach- 
ers, they  were  more  than  ordinarily  crowded. 
Many  of  the  nobility  and  also  of  the  clergy  were 
present,  and  among  the  latter  the  Dean  of  Derry, 
who  was  much  pleased  as  well  as  with  the  matter 
as  the  manner  of  his  discourses.  In  the  intervals 
of  these  meetings  he  took  an  opportunity  of  visiting 
the  Lords  Justices  of  Ireland,  and  several  of  the 
chief  ministers  of  the  Government ;  thus  discharg- 
ing the  offices  of  friendship,  and  at  the  same  time 
raising  in  their  minds  a  good  disposition  towards 
those  of  his  own  religious  persuasion,  which  might 
be  serviceable  to  them  on  a  future  day. 

It  is  remarkable,  while  he  was  in  Dublin,  that 
John  Plympton,  the  person  whom  he  had  silenced 
between  two  and  three  years  before  at  a  dispute  at 
Melksham  in  Wiltshire,  as  then  related,  was  there 
circulating  a  pamphlet  called  "  A  Quaker  no  Chris- 
tian." This  coming  to  the  ears  of  William  Penn, 
he  answered  it  by  another,  which  he  called  ''  The 
Quaker  a  Christian,"  and  which  he  also  circulated 
in  like  manner.  But  that  he  might  do  away  the 
impression,  if  any  ha(J  been  made  by  Plympton,  he 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  147 

thought  it  proper  to  draw  up  a  little  paper  to  inform 
the  people  of  Ireland  what  the  principles  of  the 
Quakers  were.  It  was  entitled  "  Gospel  Truths 
held  by  the  People  called  Quakers."  It  contained 
eleven  principles  as  embraced  by  them.  It  was 
signed  by  himself  and  three  others.  But  to  render 
the  information  still  more  complete,  he  reprinted, 
while  there,  the  eighth  and  ninth  chapters  of  his 
*'  Primitive  Christianity  revived." 

The  half-yearly  meeting  being  over,  he  left  Dub- 
lin in  company  with  Thomas  Story  and  others,  and 
began  his  journey  into  the  country.  The  first  meet- 
ing he  held  was  at  Lambstown,  where  he  preached. 
From  thence  he  went  to  Wexford:  here  another 
meeting  was  gathered.  From  Wexford  he  set  out 
for  Waterford.  He  had  previously  given  notice 
that  he  would  hold  a  meeting  there  on  the  same 
day ;  but  at  Ross,  on  his  way  thither,  he  was  de- 
tained for  some  time  by  a  curious  incident.  Some  of 
the  horses  belonging  to  him  and  the  company  had 
been  ferried  over  the  river,  while  they  were  at  din- 
ner; but  the  rest  had  been  stopped  and  seized.  The 
Irish  Parliament  had  passed  an  Act,  in  order  to 
discourage  what  they  called  the  evil  purposes  of 
Papists,  that  no  Papist  should  keep  a  horse  of  the 
value  of  five  guineas  and  upwards :  any  Protestant 
discovering  and  informing  against  such  a  horse, 
might  bring  it  to  the  Magistrate,  and,  by  tendering 
him  five  guineas  to  be  paid  to  the  owner,  might 
keep  it  afterwards  as  his  own  property.  Upon  this 
plea  it  was  that  they  were  detained;  for  Lieutenant 


148  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Wallis  and  Cornet  Montgomery,  of  Colonel  Ec- 
clin's  dragoons,  choosing  to  suspect  William  Penn 
and  his  Friends  of  being  Papists,  in  the  hope  of 
getting  a  large  booty,  had  made  the  seizure;  for 
which  they  had  previously  obtained,  upon  their 
own  information,  a  warrant  from  the  Mayor.  The 
warrant  stated  that,  whereas  several  persons,  whose 
names  were  unknown,  then  in  the  town  of  Ross, 
were  Papists  within  the  construction  of  the  late  Act, 
and  had  in  their  custody  several  horses  of  the  value 
of  five  guineas  each  horse ;  and  information  having 
been  given  of  the  same,  the  Constables  were  re- 
quired to  make  diligent  search  both  for  the  persons 
and  horses,  and  to  bring  them  before  him  (the 
Mayor)  that  they  might  be  dealt  with  according  to 
law,  and  the  true  meaning  of  the  said  Act.  William 
Penn  and  his  Friends,  not  knowing  what  had  taken 
place,  went  after  dinner  to  take  boat ;  "  but  as  they 
were  about  to  enter  it,  about  half  a  dozen  dragoons 
stepped  in  before  them,  and  forced  it  off  from  the 
shore ;  which  William  Penn  observing,  he  went  to 
some  of  their  officers  and  gentlemen  standing  on 
the  key,  reasonably  expecting  they  should  so  resent 
the  abuse,  as  at  least  to  reprove  the  soldiers;  which 
when  they  neglected,  it  became  obvious  that  it  was 
done  by  their  direction  to  prevent  the  passage. 
Then  William  Penn  said  to  them  with  a  suitable 
freedom  and  resentment,  '  What !  are  you  gentle- 
men and  officers,  and  will  you  stand  here  and  suffer 
such  insolences  in  your  open  view  ?'  "  Soon  after 
this  William  Penn  and  several  other  Friends  passed 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  149 

the  river,  and  taking  the  horses,  which  had  been 
ferried  over  before  the  seizure,  they  proceeded  to 
Waterford.  The  others  staid  behind  to  settle  the 
matter  about  those  which  were  in  custody,  which 
they  recovered  by  taking  out  a  replevin.  It  may 
not  be  improper  to  observe,  that  William  Penn 
wrote  afterwards  to  the  Lords  Justices  of  Ireland 
to  complain  of  the  abuse.  The  result  was,  that  the 
officers  were  confined  to  their  chambers.  The  lat- 
ter, fearing  they  would  be  broke,  made  application 
to  Colonel  Pursel,  the  Governor  of  Waterford,  to 
use  his  interest  with  William  Penn  in  their  behalf. 
This  the  Colonel  did,  and  "  William  Penn,"  says 
Thomas  Story,  "  who  was  not  a  man  of  revenge, 
but  of  justice  and  mercy,  so  soon  as  he  found  their 
request  was  made  in  a  due  sense  of  their  error,  de* 
layed  not  to  solicit  for  them  accordingly;  upon 
which  they  were  released  and  forgiven." 

But  to  return.  William  Penn,  having  crossed  the 
river,  and  availed  himself  of  the  use  of  one  of  the 
horses  which  had  been  ferried  over,  proceeded  to 
Waterford.  The  delay  however  had  been  such, 
that  he  did  not  arrive  there  till  nearly  the  time  of 
the  Meeting.  Here,  after  a  suitable  opportunity  of 
silence,  he  preached.  As  he  had  been  expected, 
great  multitudes  were  present.  It  was  said  that 
the  Bishop  and  several  of  his  Clergy  were  equally 
curious  to  hear  him:  but  they  did  not  go  within 
the  walls  of  the  Meeting,  satisfying  themselves  with 
what  they  could  pick  up  of  his  discourse  in  an  ad» 
joining  garden. 

G  2 


^50  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LITE 

After  leaving  Waterford  he  attended  two  Meet- 
ings at  Clonmel,  one  at  Youghall,  one  at  Cork,  and 
one  at  Bandon.  While  on  this  latter  excursion  he 
took  an  opportunity  of  visiting  his  estates.  He 
spent  however  but  three  days  upon  one,  and  two 
upon  the  other ;  during  which  he  made  all .  the 
arrangements  that  seemed  necessary.  After  this 
he  paid  a  visit  to  Lord  Shannon,  and  from  thence 
returned  to  Cork. 

During  his  stay  at  Cork  he  held  several  Meet- 
ings, which  were  crowded  beyond  former  example. 
At  one  of  these  in  particular  he  is  said  to  have  de- 
livered himself  in  an  extraordinary  manner.  Tho- 
mas Story,  speaking  of  it  in  his  Journal,  charac- 
terizes it  thus  :  "  The  Lord  was  mightily  with  him 
on  that  day,  clothing  him  with  majesty,  holy  zeal^ 
and  divine  wisdom,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of 
Friends  there,  and  admiration  and  applause  of  the 
people."  He  visited  the  Bishop  also,  who  received 
him  in  a  friendly  manner.  Finding  him  conver- 
sant with  the  writings  of  the  Society,  and  believing 
him  to  be  a  moderate  man,  he  presented  him  with 
one  of  those  little  papers,  which  he  had  published 
at  Dublin,  called  "  Gospel  Truths  held  by  the 
People  called  Quakers." 

Having  left  Cork  he  held  two  Meetings  at  Charle- 
ville,  one  at  Limeric,  and  another  at  Birr.  Here 
the  Church-clergyman,  who  had  attended  his  dis- 
course, waited  upon  him  in  the  evening  to  compli- 
ment him  upon  it,  and  to  converse  with  him  on  the 
subject  of  religion.     From  Birr  he  proceeded  ta 


OF  WILLIAM  PENN.  l5l 

Mountmellick,  Edenderry,  and  Lurgan;  at  all  of 
which  places  he  preached  to  large  assemblies,  and 
with  great  advantage  to  the  character  of  his  own 
Society;  but  particularly  in  the  latter  place,  because 
many  professors  among  the  Sectarians,  who  attend- 
ed him,  acknowledged  that  the  Quakers  had  been 
wronged  by  false  reports  concerning  their  prin- 
ciples and  doctrines.  From  Lurgan  he  returned  to 
Dublin.  Here  he  spent  several  days,  during  which 
he  frequently  renewed  the  exercise  of  his  gift  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  in  that  city. 

After  this  he  travelled  into  the  country  again, 
and  among  other  places  arrived  at  Cashel.  Being 
there  on  one  of  the  days  on  which  the  Quakers 
usually  held  their  public  worship,  he  went  to  their 
place  of  meeting;  but  no  sooner  were  the  doors 
opened  than  it  was  filled.  Being  prevented  from 
getting  in  so  soon  as  some  other  of  his  Friends,  he 
took  his  station  in  an  adjoining  room,  Vi^here  he 
finished  some  important  letters.  In  process  of  time 
the  Meeting  began.  The  first  who  rose  up  to 
preach  was  John  Vaughton:  but  he  had  not  pro- 
ceeded far  in  his  discourse  when  the  Mayor  of  the 
town,  accompanied  by  constables,  appeared  by  the 
direction  of  the  Bishop,  and  in  the  King's  name 
ordered  the  congregation  to  disperse.  Vaughton, 
*upon  hearing  the  summons,  (for  the  Mayor  had 
made  but  little  way  into  the  Meeting-house,)  stated 
aloud,  that  he  with  other  Friends  had  been  admitted 
into  the  .presence  of  King  William  before  he  came 
from  England ;  that  the  King  had  asked  him,  If  the 


« 

152  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    LIFE 

Quakers  had  full  liberty  in  all  his  dominions  to  ex- 
ercise their  religion  without  molestation ;  that,  not 
knowing  any  thing  to  the  contrary,  they  had  answer- 
ed, That  through  the  good  providence  of  God,  who 
had  placed  him  on  the  throne,  and  his  own  kind  in- 
dulgence, they  had  now  more  liberty  than  before, 
for  which  they  were  thankful  both  to  God  and  the 
King ;  that  the  King  said  in  reply,  That  if  any  dis- 
turbed the  Quakers  in  the  exercise  of  their  religious 
liberties,  and  they  would  make  him  acquainted  with 
it,  he  would  provide  for  them  therein,  and  protect 
them.  And  here,  addressing  himself  to  the  Mayor, 
he  said,  "  Thou  disturbest  our  Meeting,  and  com- 
mandest  us  in  the  King's  name  to  disperse,  as  if  we 
were  aggressors.  But  whether  we  should  obey 
thee  without  law,  or  believe  the  King's  word  and 
accept  of  his  royal  protection  according  to  law,  let 
all  that  hear  judge."  After  this  Thomas  Story 
rose,  and  made  some  pertinent  remarks,  which 
seemed  to  have  irritated  the  Mayor,  so  that  the 
latter  attempted  to  press  forward  towards  him;  but 
his  attention  was  taken  off  by  a  message  from  Wil- 
liam Penn  in  the  adjoining  room.  It  was  clear  that 
the  Mayor  did  not  like  the  errand  upon  which  the 
Bishop  had  sent  him;  for  he  immediately  took  the 
opportunity,  which  this  message  afforded  him,  of 
withdrawing  himself  from  the  Meeting.  William 
Penn  treated  him  on  his  entrance  into  the  adjoining 
room  with  all  the  respect  due  to  his  office*  The 
result  of  their  conversation  was,  that  the  Mayor 
was  to  wait  upon  the  Bishop  to  solicit  his  patience 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  153 

Ii^lI  the  meeting  was  over,  at  which  time  William 
Penn  and  others  would  wait  upon  him  (the  Bishop) 
at  his  own  house.  This  promise  they  performed.  An 
interview  afterwards  took  place,  William  Penn  could 
not  help  expressing  to  the  Bishop  his  surprise,  that 
as  a  general  liberty  had  been  granted  by  law  to  the 
King's  subjects  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way, 
provided  they  conformed  themselves  to  the  law,  and 
as  the  very  Meeting  they  attended  had  been  held  on 
the  day  and  in  the  place  when  and  where  the  Qua- 
kers usually  met,  he  (thf  Bishop)  should  have  or- 
dered the  Mayor  to  disturb  them.  The  Bishop 
made  no  hesitation  in  his  reply.  He  had  been,  he 
said,  that  morning  to  church  ;  and,  when  there,  he 
had  found  nobody  to  preach  to  but  the  Mayor, 
Churchwardens,  a  few  Constables,  and  the  bare 
walls,  his  congregation  having  deserted  him  for  the 
Quakers.  Chagrined  at  this  circumstance,  he  had 
sent  the  Mayor  and  Constables  with  a  message  to 
them,  but  he  owed  them  no  ill  will.  Soon  after  this 
they  parted  upon  seeming  good  terms  the  one  with 
the  other.  The  Bishop,  however,  finding  afterwards 
that  he  had  violated  the  Toleration- Act,  wrote  to 
the  Earl  of  Galway  and  the  other  Lord  Justice  of 
Ireland,  stating,  in  excuse  for  his  conduct,  that 
''  Mr.  Penn  and  the  Quakers  had  gathered  together 
in  that  place,  that  day,  such  a  vast  multitude  of  peo- 
ple, and  so  many  armed  Papists,  that  it  struck  a  ter- 
ror into  him  and  the  town  ;  and  not  knowing  what 
might  be  the  consequence  of  such  an  appearance,  he 


154  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

had  sent  the  Mayor  and  other  Magistrates  to  dis- 
perse them.'' 

William  Penn  after  this  proceeded  to  Cork, 
preaching  at  several  towns  as  he  went  along.  At 
Cork  also  he  had  several  meetings,  as  well  as  in  the 
country  round  about.  Here  he  found  his  friend  the 
Earl  of  Galway,  who  showed  him  the  Bishop's  let- 
ter above  mentioned.  Having  now  been  between 
two  and  three  months  in  Ireland,  and  having 
preached  in  the  Queen's  county,  and  the  counties 
of  Kildare,  Wicklow,  Carlow,  Wexford,  Water- 
ford,  Cork,  Limeric,  Kilkenny,  and  Tipperary,  he 
and  Thomas  Story  took  their  passage  in  the  Jane  of 
London,  to  be  landed  in  the  Bristol  Channel.  But 
while  he  was  embarking  he  received  a  letter  from 
the  Bishop  of  Cork,  in  answer  to  the  little  paper  he 
had  left  him,  entitled  "  Gospel- Truths  as  held  by 
the  People  called  Quakers."  The  Bishop,  it  ap- 
pears, had  examined  the  eleven  articles  contained  in 
it,  and  sent  his  opinion  in  writing  upon  each.  The 
fault  he  found  with  ^^  Gospel-Truths,"  though  par- 
ticular, may  be  conveyed  generally  in  the  words  of 
the  Preface  to  his  own  Letter :  '*  The  only  articles," 
says  he,  "  in  which  you  have  expressed  a  sufficient 
Christian  belief,  are  your  sixth,  touching  Justifica- 
tion, and  your  last,  touching  Government  and  your 
submission  thereto.  I  wish  you  may  always  stick 
to  this  belief  and  practice  ;  and  I  heartily  rejoice  to 
find  you  acknowledge  the  necessity  of  Christ  as  a 
propitiation,  in  order  to  remission  of  sins  and  justi- 


OF  WILLIAM    PENN.  155 

fying  you  as  sinners  from  guilt.  'Tis  the  first  time 
I  have  heard  of  it  among  you.  As  to  all  the  rest  of 
your  articles  (I  mean  those  which  I  understand),  I 
must  tell  you,  the  declaration  of  your  faith  comes  so 
short  of  what  is  required  from  people  to  denominate 
them  Christians,  that,  except  under  each  article  you 
believe  more  than  you  have  declared,  you  cannot  be 
accounted  Christians.  For,  first,  in  those  articles 
of  faith  which  you  have  thought  fit  to  mention,  you 
have  set  down  only  some  little  ends  (1  had  almost 
called  them  snaps)  of  the  article :  and,  secondly, 
many  more  whole  articles  of  the  true  Christian  faith, 
and  which  are  of  no  less  import,  you  have  entirely 
omitted,  waved,  or  suppressed." 

William  Penn  was  not  a  little  disturbed  at  this 
letter  :  but  he  had  now  no  time  to  answer  it,  being 
then  on  board  ;  and  therefore  he  put  it  into  his 
pocket,  with  a  view  of  replying  to  it  at  a  future 
time.  In  a  day  or  two  after  this  he  and  Thomas 
Story  were  landed  at  Minehead,  from  whence  they 
proceeded  to  Bristol.  His  first  employment  after 
his  arrival  at  home  was  to  write  "  A  Defence  of 
a  Paper  called  Gospel-Truths  against  the  Excep- 
tions of  the  Bishop  of  Cork's  Testimony."  He  was 
more  than  five  weeks  in  composing  it.  Thomas 
Story  transcribed  it  for  him.  It  elucidated  more 
and  more  the  principles  embraced  by  those  of  his 
own  religious  profession. 

In  about  six  weeks  after  the  publication  of  this, 
William  Penn  went  to  London,  and  from  thence  to 
Deptford,  to  take  leave  of  se'veral  Friends  who  were 


156  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

going  out  as  adventurers  on  board  the  Providence, 
of  London,  Captain  Cant,  for  Pennsylvania.  Among 
these  was  Thomas  Story  himself.  The  latter  had 
for  some  time  felt  a  growing  desire  of  being  useful 
there.  He  was  a  man  of  an  uncommonly  clear  un- 
derstanding, and  of  considerable  knowledge,  as  it 
related  to  the  English  law.  On  this  latter  account 
William  Penn,  who  had  besides  a  great  regard  for 
him  as  a  man,  and  for  his  talents  as  a  minister,  had 
in  some  nSeasure  encouraged  the  inclination  he  had 
manifested  for  the  voyage.  It  appears  that,  before 
sailing,  they  held  a  religious  meeting  in  the  great 
cabin,  where  William  Penn  broke  out  into  prayer 
*'  for  the  good  and  preservation  of  all,  and  especially 
of  those  who  were  going  to  leave  their  native  coun- 
try ;  with  thanksgiving  also  for  the  favours  of  God, 
and  for  that  holy  and  precious  opportunity  of  their 
then  spiritual  enjoyment,  as  an  addition  to  his  many- 
former  blessings." 

On  his  return  to  Bristol  he  wrote  "  The  Truth 
of  God,  as  held  by  the  People  called  Quakers,  be- 
ing a  short  Vindication  of  them  from  the  Abuses 
and  Misrepresentations  put  upon  them  by  envious 
Apostates  and  mercenary  Adversaries."  Tliis  work 
he  was  induced  to  undertake  in  consequence  of  the 
mistakes  which  even  yet  prevailed  respecting  the 
tenets  of  the  Society.  It  was  in  fact  a  yet  further 
elucidation  to  the  elucidation  just  before  given  to 
the  public  in  his  Answer  to  the  Bishop  of  Cork.  It 
treated  further  concerning  God — Jesus  Christ — the 
Holy  Scriptures — Baptism — the  breaking  of  Bread 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  157 

— the  Light  of  Christ — the  Father,  Word,  and  Spi- 
rit— Works — Christ  as  our  Example — Freedom 
from  Sin — Worship  to  God— -God  and  Christ  as  in 
Man — Christ  coming  both  in  Flesh  and  Spirit — the 
Resurrection — Separation — Magistracy. 

With  respect  to  Pennsylvania,  things  are  said  to 
have  gone  on  well  for  this  year.  We  find,  however, 
a  Proclamation  by  the  Deputy  Governor,  Mark- 
ham,  against  illegal  trade,  the  harbouring  of  pirates, 
and  the  growth  of  vice.  It  appears,  however,  to 
have  been  issued,  not  because  these  or  other  wicked 
practices  in  particular  prevailed,  but  because  they 
had  been  spoken  of  in  England  as  prevailing  there  ; 
and  therefore  it  was  thought  proper  to  let  the  inha- 
bitants both  of  the  Province  and  Territories  know 
what  had  been  reported  against  them,  that  they 
might  be  particularly  on  their  guard  in  these  respects 
in  future.  As  to  illegal  trade,  or  the  harbouring  of 
pirates,  no  legal  regulation  was  thought  necessary  in 
consequence  of  the  Proclamation,  because  neither 
of  the  evils  was  said  to  exist ;  but  as  to  vice,  which 
prevails  more  or  less  in  all  societies,  it  was  proper  to 
do  something :  and  therefore,  in  conformity  with 
the  said  Proclamation,  the  Magistrates  were  in- 
structed by  the  Deputy  Governor,  by  way  of  pre- 
ventive, to  curtail  the  number  of  ordinary  or  inn- 
keepers, and  to  licence  those  only  upon  whose  good 
conduct  they  thought  they  could  depend. 


VOL.  !!• 


158  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  XII. 


A.  1699 — religious  dispute  at  West  Dereham  be- 
tween  the  Quakers  and  the  Norfolk  clergy — 
writes  a  paper  against  "  A  brief  Dicovery^'*  the 
production  of  the  latter — also  "  A  just  Censure  of 
Francis  Bugg^s  Address'''^ — prepares  for  a  voyage 
to  America — draws  up  "  Advice  to  his  Children 
for  their  civil  and  religious  Conduct^"^ — also^  on 
embarking^  **  A  Letter  to  the  People  of  God  called 
^uaierSy  ivherever  scattered  or  gathered"*"^ — ar- 
rives in  the  Delaware — incidents  there-'-^yelloxv 
fever — proceeds  to  Philadelphia — Tisits  in  the 
country — anecdote  related  of  him  while  at  Merion 
'■'^meets  the  Assembly — passes  Bills  against  pira- 
cy and  illicit  trade — extreme  severity  of  the 
weather. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  present  yeai^  a  public  dis- 
pute was  held  at  West  Dereham  in  Norfolk,  be- 
tween some  clergymen  of  the  Established  Church 
and  a  like  number  of  Quakers,  relative  to  certain 
doctrines  in  religion.  The  former,  it  appears,  did 
tiot  carry  their  point,  at  least  with  the  auditors  ;  the 
consequence  of  which  was,  that  many  of  the  clergy 
of  the  county  made  a  common  cause  of  it,  and  that 
some  of  the  most  able  of  them  produced  a  pamph- 
let, called  "  A  brief  Discovery,"  in  which  they  laid 
open  what  they  supposed  to  be  the  mischievous  er- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  159 

rors  of  the  Quakers,  both  as  they  related  to  their 
principles  and  practice.  In  no  book  had  the  Qua- 
kers been  more  misrepresented  or  calumniated  than 
in  this,  and  in  no  one  was  a  worse  intention  mani- 
fested towards  them  ;  for  its  tendency  was  to  set 
aside  the  indulgence  which  the  Toleration- Act  had 
given  to  them  among  others  ;  and  in  order  that  it 
might  make  an  impression  to  this  end,  it  was  pre- 
sented formally  to  the  King  and  Parliament. 

William  Penn  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  make 
an  especial  reply  to  this  pamphlet,  having  in  the 
course  of  his  works  answered  the  contents  of  it  over 
and  over  again  ;  but  to  counteract  its  effects  he  cir- 
culated a  small  paper  among  the  Lords  and  Com- 
mons, in  the  name  of  the  Society,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  copy : 

"  It  does  not  surprise  us  to  be  evilly  intreated, 
atid  especially  by  thos6  who  have  an  interest  in  do- 
ing it :  but  if  conscience  prevailed  more  th.^n  con- 
tention, and  charity  over-ruled  prejudice,  we  might 
hope  for  fairer  quarter  from  our  adversaries. 

"  But  such  is  our  unhappiness,  that  nothing  le  ss 
will  satisfy  them  than  breaking  in  upon  the  indul- 
gence which  we  enjoy,  if  they  could  persuade  the 
Government  to  second  their  attempts  to  a  new  per- 
secution ;  in  order  to  which  we  perceive  they  hax^e 
been  hard  at  work  to  pervert  our  books,  violate  ouT 
sense,  abuse  our  practice,  a-nd  ridicule  our  persons  ; 
knowing  very  well  with  whom  they  have  to  m,  and 
that  the  patience  of  our  profession  is  their  security 
in  abusing  it. 


160  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

"  However,  if  it  has  weight  enough  with  our  su- 
periors to  make  them  expect  a  fresh  defence  of  our 
principles  and  practices,  we  shall,  with  God's  assis- 
tance, be  ready  for  their  satisfaction  once  more  to 
justify  both  against  the  insults  of  our  restless  adver- 
saries, who  otherwise,  we  take  leave  to  say,  would 
not  deserve  our  notice ;  since  we  have  already  re- 
peatedly answered  their  objections  in  print,  and 
think  it  our  duty,  as  well  as  wisdom,  to  use  the  li- 
berty the  Government  has  favoured  us  with,  in  as 
peaceable  and  inoffensive  a  manner  as  may  be. 

"  William  Penn." 

He  wrote,  besides  the  above,  "  A  just  Censure 
of  Francis  Bugg's  Address  to  the  Parliament 
against  the  Quakers." 

At  this  time  William  Penn  was  preparing  to  de- 
part for  his  Government  in  Pennsylvania.  It  may 
be  remembered,  when  he  went  his  first  voyage, 
that  he  left  his  family  behind  him,  and  that  he 
left  behind  him  also  a  beautiful  letter  to  his  wife 
and  children.  On  the  present  occasion  he  deter- 
mined to  take  his  wife  and  family  with  him ;  not- 
withstanding which  he  thought  it  right  tp  com- 
pose an  address,  v/hich  he  called  "  Advice  to  his 
Children  for  their  civil  and  religious  Conduct."  He 
was  aware  that  death  might  arrest  him  in  his  course  ; 
and  therefore,  in  case  of  such  an  event,  he  deter- 
mined that  they,  his  children,  should  know,  when 
he  was  dead^  what  his  mind  would  have  been  as  to 
their  conduct  on  a  great  variety  of  occasions,  had 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  161 

he  been  living.  This  address  is  a  small  volume  of 
itself.  Even  an  analysis  of  it  would  be  too  long  for 
insertion  here.  Some  idea  however  may  be  formed 
of  it  by  stating,  that  it  breathes  the  spirit,  and  con- 
tains many  of  the  sentiments,  of  the  first  beautiful 
letter  just  mentioned,  and  that  now  and  then  we  dis- 
cover in  it  thoughts  similar  to  some  of  those  in  his 
"  Fruits  of  Solitude,"  which  was  a  collection,  as  the 
reader  will  remember,  of  reflections  and  maxims, 
the  result  of  his  own  experience,  for  the  conduct  of 
human  life. 

Having  written  this  his  advice,  and  prepared  all 
other  matters,  he  and  his  family  proceeded  to  Cowes 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  they  embarked.  Here, 
before  the  ship  sailed,  he  wrote  a  farewell  letter  to 
the  members  of  his  own  religious  Society,  as  he  had 
done  in  his  former  voyage  when  lying  in  the  Downs. 
It  was  called  "  A  Letter  to  the  People  of  God  call- 
ed Quakers,  wherever  scattered  or  gathered,  in 
England,  Ireland,  Scotland,  Holland,  Germany,  or 
in  any  other  Part  of  Europe."  The  tenour  of  it 
was  like  that  of  the  former,  exhorting  them  to  watch 
for  their  daily  preservation,  to  turn  their  minds  in- 
ward and  there  wait  to  feel  their  Redeemer,  and  to 
keep  up  the  true  fear  and  love  of  God  ;  without 
v/hich  they  would  decay  and  wither. 

After  a  tedious  passage  of  nearly  three  months 
he  arrived  in  the  River  Delaware  on  the  last  day  of 
November.  Just  about  this  time  a  most  horrible 
distemper,  called  then  the  Yellow  Fever,  had  ceas- 
ed. This  distemper  had  been  very  fatal  in  several 
P2 


162  MEMOIRS    OF    THE   LlfE 

of  the  West- India  Islands  some  years  before.  The- 
mas  Story,  whom  I  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter  to 
have  gone  to  Pennsylvania  the  preceding  year,  wit- 
nessed its  rise  and  progress  there.  He  says  in  his 
Journal,  that  "  while  he  was  in  Philadelphia  six,  se- 
ven,  and  eight  a  day  were  taken  off  for  several 
weeks  together."  In  describing  the  effect  it  had 
upon  the  minds  of  those  who  beheld  its  progress,  he 
speaks  thus  :  "  Great  was  the  majesty  and  the  hand 
of  the  Lord.  Great  was  the  fear  that  fell  upon  all 
flesh.  I  saw  no  lofty  nor  airy  countenance,  nor 
heard  any  vain  jesting  to  move  men  to  laughter ; 
nor  witty  repartee  to  raise  mirth  ;  nor  extravagant 
feasting  to  excite  the  lusts  and  desires  of  the  flesh 
above  measure :  but  every  face  gathered  paleness, 
and  many  hearts  were  humbled,  and  countenances 
fallen  and  sunk,  as  of  those  who  waited  every  mo- 
ment to  be  summoned  to  the  bar,  and  numbered  to 
the  grave." 

I  have  been  induced  to  make  this  digression  on 
this  particular  subject,  because  the  yellow  fever  has 
generally  been  considered  as  having  originally 
sprung,  and  this  of  late  years,  from  Africa,  and  as 
having  been  imported  from  thence  to  our  West  In- 
dies, and  afterwards  from  thence  to  America.  But 
the  foregoing  account  falsifies  such  an  idea^  and 
fixes  it  to  its  proper  latitudes.  It  may  not  be  unim- 
portant, in  the  future  consideration  of  this  distem- 
per, to  view  it  as  one  of  long  standing,  and  as  be- 
longing to  those  climates  where  its  awful  visitation^ 
have  been  so  severely  felt. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  163 

Bat  to  return.  William  Penn  arrived  in  the 
River  Delaware.  By  the  time  he  had  sailed  past 
Chichester  it  began  to  be  evening,  and,  meaning  to 
sleep  that  night  on  shore,  he  ordered  out  his  barge. 
Having  landed,  he  proceeded  to  the  house  of  Lydia 
Wade,  near  Chester.  Here  he  found  Thomas 
Story  and  some  other  of  his  Friends,  with  whom  he 
spent  the  evening.  It  is  said  their  conversation 
during  this  time  was  chiefly  on  the  affairs  of  the 
Government. 

The  next  morning  he  went  over  the  creek  in  a 
boat  to  Chester,  *^  and,  as  he  landed,  some  young 
men  officiously,  and  contrary  to  the  express  orders 
of  some  of  the  Magistrates,  fired  two  small  sea- 
pieces  of  cannon,  and  being  ambitious  of  making 
three  out  of  two,  by  firing  one  twice,  one  of  them, 
darting  in  a  cartridge  of  powder  before  the  piece 
v/as  sponged,  had  his  left  hand  and  arm  shot  to 
pieces ;  upon  which,  a  surgeon  being  sent  for,  an 
amputation  took  place." 

Having  just  seen  and  spoken  to  his  old  friends  at 
Chester,  he  returned  to  the  ship,  when,  weighing 
anchor,  he  and  his  family  were  conveyed  straight  to 
Philadelphia.  On  his  arrival  there  the  inhabitants 
were  ready  to  gather  round  him.  They  received 
him  with  the  marks  of  universal  joy  ;  nor  was  this 
joy  allayed  by  any  cruel  accident  as  in  the  former 
case,  every  precaution  having  been  taken,  since  the 
news  of  what  had  happened  at  Chester  reached 
Philadelphia,  to  prevent  a  similar  calamity  there. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  increased  by  the  belief 


164  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Governor^  as  he  had 
frequently  expressed  in  his  letters,  to  fix  his  resi- 
dence among  them  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
His  first  object  after  his  arrival  at  Philadelphia 
was  to  call  the  Assembly.  For  this  purpose  he 
issued  his  writs;  but,  as  certain  previous  notice  was 
required  by  law,  he  could  not  bring  them  together 
so  speedily  as  he  wished.  In  the  mean  time  he 
went  about,  notwithstanding  the  extraordinary 
severity  of  the  weather,  wherever  he  thought  his 
presence  would  be  looked  for,  or  useful.  We  find 
him  accordingly  at  one  time  at  the  quarter-sessions 
of  the  peace  at  Chester ;  at  another  at  the  marriage 
of  Samuel  Jenings's  two  daughters  at  Burlington ; 
at  another  at  a  youth's  meeting  there  ;  and  at 
another  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  Welsh  Quakers 
at  Haverfordwest.  While  he  was  at  the  latter 
place,  he  left  it  to  sleep  one  night  at  Merion.  Here 
happened  what  is  related  of  him  by  Sutcliff  in  his 
late  publication,  entitled  "Travels  in  some  Parts  of 
North  America  in  the  Years  1804,  1805,  and 
1 806  ;"  an  anecdote  which  ought  not  to  be  passed 
over.  "  A  boy,  about  twelve  years  old,  son  of  the 
person  at  whose  house  he  lodged,  being  a  lad  of  cu- 
riosity, and  not  often  seeing  such  a  guest  as  Wil- 
liam Penn,  privately  crept  to  the  chamber-door  up 
a  flight  of  steps  on  the  outside  of  the  building.  On 
peeping  through  the  latchet-hole  he  was  struck  with 
awe  in  beholding  this  great  man  upon  his  knees  by 
the  bed-side,  and  in  hearing  what  he  said,  for  he 


OF    WILLIAM   PENN.  165 

could  distinctly  hear  him  in  prayer,  and  in  thanks- 
giving that  he  was  then  provided  for  in  the  wilder- 
ness. This  circumstance  made  an  impression  upon 
the  lad's  mind,  which  was  not  effaced  in  old  age." 
I  may  remark,  that  during  these  and  other  excur- 
sions at  this  time  the  cold  was  intense.  It  rained 
frequently  and  froze  at  the  same  time,  so  that  the 
fields  are  described  to  have  been  *'  as  cakes  of  ice, 
and  the  trees  of  the  woods  as  if  candied."  In  going 
over  to  Burlington,  to  Samuel  Jenings's  as  before 
mentioned,  the  passage  was  very  dangerous,  the  ice 
drifting  down  in  large  columns.  This  occasioned 
his  detention  there  three  days,  it  being  impossible 
till  after  that  time  to  repass  the  river. 

At  length  the  Assembly  met.  The  Governor  in 
his  address  to  them  stated,  that  he  was  sorry  that  he 
had  felt  himself  obliged  to  call  them  together  at  this 
inclement  season,  seeing  that  the  general  business 
of  the  Province  and  Territories  did  not  particularly 
require  their  attendance ;  but  it  was  necessary  for 
his  own  reputation,  and  that  of  the  Assembly,  that 
two  Bills  should  be  immediately  passed,  one  for  the 
discouragement  of  piracy,  and  the  other  for  the  pre- 
vention of  illicit  trade.  He  represented  to  them 
the  odium  which  the  Pennsylvanians  had  incurred 
in  England  on  account  of  a  notion  that  such  mal- 
practices existed  among  them  j  and  added  the  ob- 
ligation he  was  under  to  his  superiors  to  see  the 
same  correc  ed  as  soon  as  he  had  the  power  of  Go- 
vernment in  his  own  hands. 


166  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Upon  this  address  the  subject  was  taken  into 
consideration.  Two  Bills  were  accordingly  drawn 
up,  and  which,  after  many  alterations  and  additions^ 
were  passed  into  Laws.  It  is  a  curious  circum- 
stance, that  a  clause  was  added  to  that  for  dis- 
couraging piracy,  forbidding  all  trade  from  the 
Province  and  Territories  to  Madagascar ;  but  a 
belief  obtained  with  the  Government  of  England  at 
this  time,  that  individual  pirates  concealed  them- 
selves in  different  parts  of  the  New  Settlements  in 
America,  and  that  it  was  the  intention  of  these  to 
remove  their  trade  and  magazines,  and  to  form  a 
junction  and  to  establish  a  colony  of  freebooters  in 
that  island.  It  is  also  remarkable,  when  Markham 
stated  publicly,  in  the  preceding  year,  that  no 
pirates  had  found  their  way  to  the  Province  or 
Territories,  yet  that  very  soon  after  William  PennV 
arrival  two  persons  were  put  to  gaol  on  suspicion  of 
having  been  concerned  as  such,  and  another  was 
admitted  to  bail  on  the  same  account,  who  proved 
to  be  the  son-in-law  of  Markham  himself,  louring 
this  session,  which  held  nearly  sixteen  days,  little 
else  was  done  than  the  consideration  and  framing 
of  these  Bills.  One  or  two  vacant  offices  were 
fllkd,  and  certain  salaries  regulated.  The  cold 
indeed  was  so  intense,  that  the  health  of  the  mem- 
bers would  have  suffered,  had  it  continued  longer. 
They  could  not  pass  about  as  usual,  nor  keep  them- 
selves warm  during  their  sittings.  At  one  time, 
after  they  had  met  to  forward  the  public  business, 
they  were    obliged    to    adjourn    entirely   for    the 


OF   WILLIAM   PENN.  16/ 

latter  cause.  Very  few  notwithstanding  absent- 
ed themselves,  and  frequently  all  were  present. 
As  soon,  however,  as  the  two  Bills  were  finished, 
they  broke  up,  and  returned  to  their  respective 
homes. 


168  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


J.  1700 — proposes  and  carries  in  his  ozun  monthly 
meeting  Resolutions  relative  to  Indians  and 
Negro  slaves — removes  obstructions  and  nui- 
sances in  the  city — calls  the  Assembly — proceed- 
ings of  the  same — visits  and  receives  Indians — 
travels  in  the  ministry  through  the  Province  and 
Territories^  and  in  the  Jerseys  and  Maryland — 
anecdotes  of  him  xvhile  on  this  excursion — calls  a 
new  Assembly  at  Newcastle — substance  of  his 
speech  to  them — proceedings  of  the  same — their 
dissentions — these  allayed  by  his  xuisdom  and 
justice — particulars  relative  to  their  rules  and 
customs, 

William  Penn,  having  passed  his  Bills  against 
piracy  and  illicit  trade,  retired  to  his  mansion  at 
PennsV^ury,  which  was  then  as  well  as  afterwards 
the  place  of  his  general  residence.  There  were  two 
objects  which  at  this  time  particularly  occupied  his 
attention*  there.  He  had  already  interested  him- 
self in  one  of  them  during  his  first  residence  in 
America,  namely,  the  instruction  and  civilization 
of  the  Indians.  He  was  now  desirous  of  resuming 
it,  and  also  of  taking  into  consideration  the  other, 
which  related  to  the  condition  of  African  or  Negro 
slaves. 


©F   WILLIAM   PENN.  169 

I  must  observe  on  the  latter  subject,  that  soon 
after  the  colony  had  been  planted,  that  is,  in  the 
year  1682,  when  William  Penn  was  first  resident  in 
it,  some  few  Africans  had  been  imported,  but  that 
more  had  followed.  At  this  time  the  traffic  in 
slaves  was  not  branded  with  infamy  as  at  the 
present  day.  It  was  considered,  on  the  other 
hand,  as  favourable  to  both  parties  :  to  the  Ameri- 
can planters,  because  they  had  but  few  labourers  in 
comparison  with  the  extent  of  their  lands ;  and  to 
the  poor  Africans  themselves,  because  they  were 
looked  upon  as  persons  redeemed  out  of  supersti- 
tion, idolatr\^,  and  heathenism.  But  though  the 
purchase  and  sale  of  them  had  been  admitted  with 
less  caution  upon  this  principle,  there  were  not 
wanting  among  the  Quakers  of  Pennsylvania  those 
who,  soon  after  the  introduction  of  them  there, 
began  to  question  the  moral  licitness  of  the  traffic. 
Accordingly,  at  the  yearly  meeting  for  Pennsylva- 
nia, held  in  1688,  it  had  been  resolved,  on  the  sug- 
gestion of  emigrants  from  Crisheim  who  had  adopt- 
ed the  principles  of  William  Penn,  that  the  buying, 
selling,  and  holding  men  in  slavery  was  inconsistent 
with  the  tenets  of  the  Christian  religion.  In  1696 
a  similar  Resolution  had  been  passed  at  the  yearly 
meeting  of  the  same  religious  Society  for  the  same 
province.  In  consequence  then  of  these  noble 
Resolutions,  the  Quakers  had  begun  to  treat  their 
slaves  in  a  manner  different  from  that  of  other 
people.  They  had  begun  to  consider  them  as  the 
children  of  the  same  great  Parent,  to  whom  ;frater- 

VOL.  II.  Q 


170  MEMOIRS    OF   THE   LIFE 

nal  offices  were  due ;  and  hence,  in  1 693,  there  were 
instances  where  they  had  admitted  them  into  their 
meeting-houses  to  ^  worship  in  common  with  them- 
selves. 

William  Penn  was  highly  gratified  by  the  consi- 
deration of  what  had  been  done  on  this  important 
subject.     From  the  very  first  introduction  of  en- 

*  I  cannot  help  copying  into  a  note  an  anecdote  from  Thomas 
Stone's  Journal  for  this  year.     **  On  the   thirteenth,"    says  he, 
**  we  had  a  pretty  large  meeting,   where  several  were  tendered, 
among  which  were  some  Negroes.     And   here  I  shall  observe, 
that  Thomas  Simons  having  several  Negroes,  one  of  them,  as 
also  several  belonging  to  Henry  White,   had  of  late  come  to 
meeting^s,  and,  having  a  sense  of  Truth,  several  others  thereaway 
were  likewise  convinced,   and   like  to  do  well.     And  the  morn- 
ing  that    we    came    from    Thomas    Simon's,    my   companion 
speaking  some  words  of  Truth  to  his  Negro -woman,   she   was 
tendered,  and   as  I  passed  on  horseback  by  the  place  where  she 
stood  weeping,  I  gave  her  my  hand,  and  then   she  was  much 
more  broken  ;  and  finding  the  day  of  the  Lord's  tender  visitation 
and  mercy  upon  her,  I  spake  encouragingly  to  her,  and  was  glad 
to  find  the  poor  Blacks  so  near  the  Truth  and  reachable.     She 
stood  there  looking  after  us,  and  weeping,  as  long  as  w^e  could 
see  her.     I  had  inquired  of  one  of  the  black  men,  how  long  they 
had  come  to  meetings  ;  and  he  said,  ♦  they  had  always  been  kept 
in  ignorance,  and  disregarded  as  persons  who  were  not  to  expect 
any  thing  from  the  Loi-d,  till  Jonathan  Taylor,  who  had  been 
there  the  year  before,  discoursing  with  them,  had  informed  them 
that  the  grace  of   God  through   Christ  was  given  also  to  them  ; 
and  that  they  ought  to  believe  in  and  be  led  and  taught  by  it,  and 
so  might  come  to  be  good  Friends,  and  saved  as  well  as  others. 
And. on  the  next  occasion,  which  was  when  William  EUis  and 
Aaron  Atkinson  were  there,  they  went  to  meetings,  and  several 
of  them  were  convinced  '    Thus  one  planteth,  and  another  wa- 
toreth,  but  God  giveth  the  increase." 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  171 

slaved  Africans  into  his  province  he  had  been  soli- 
citous about  their  temporal  and  eternal  welfare.  He 
had  always  considered  them  as  persons  of  the  like 
nature  with  himself,  as  having  the  same  desire  of 
pleasure  and  the  same  aversion  from  pain,  as  chil- 
dren of  the  same  F'ather,  and  heirs  of  the  same  pro- 
mises. Knowing  how  naturally  the  human  heart 
became  corrupted  and  hardened  by  the  use  of  power, 
he  was  fearful  lest  in  time  these  friendless  strangers 
should  become  an  oppressed  people.  Accordingly, 
as  his  predecessor  George  Fox,  when  he  first  visited 
the  British  West  India  islands,  exhorted  all  those, 
who  attended  his  meetings  for  worship  there  to  con- 
sider their  slaves  as  branches  of  their  own  families, 
for  whose  spiritual  instruction  they  would  one  day 
or  other  be  required  to  give  an  account,  so  William 
Penn  had,  on  his  first  arrival  in  America,  inculca- 
ted the  same  notion.  It  lay  therefore  now  upon  his 
mind  to  endeavour  to  bring  into  practice  what  had 
appeared  to  him  to  be  right  in  principle.  To  accom- 
plish this,  there  were  two  ways.  One  of  them  was, 
to  try  to  incorporate  the  treatment  of  slaves  as  a 
matter  of  Christian  duty,  into  the  discipline  of  his 
own  religious  Society ;  and  the  other,  to  secure  it 
among  others  in  the  colony  of  a  different  religious 
description,  by  a  legislative  act.  Both  of  these 
were  necessary.  The  fgrmer,  however,  he  resolved 
to  attempt  first.  The  Society  itself  had  already  af- 
forded him  a  precedent  by  its  Resolutions  in  1688 
and  in  1696,  as  before  mentioned,  and  had  thereby 
done  something  material  in  the  progress    of    the 


172  MEMOIRS   OF   THE   LIFE 

work.  It  was  only  to  get  a  minute  passed  upon 
their  books  to  the  intended  effect.  Accordingly,  at 
the  very  first  monthly  meeting  of  the  Society,  which 
took  place  in  Philadelphia  in  the  present  year,  he 
proposed  the  subject.  He  laid  before  them  the 
concern  which  had  been  so  long  upon  his  mind,  re- 
lative to  these  unfortunate  people.  He  pressed  upon 
them  the  duty  of  allowing  them  as  frequently  as  pos- 
sible to  attend  their  meetings  for  worship,  and  the 
benefit  that  would  accrue  to  both  by  the  instruction 
of  them  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  religion; 
^^The  result  was,  that  a  meeting  was  appointed  more 
particularly  for  the  Negroes  once  every  month  ;  so 
that,  besides  the  common  opportunities  they  had  of 
toUecting  religious  knowledge  by  frequenting  the 
places  of  worship,  there  was  one  day  in  the  month, 
in  which,  as  far  as  the  influence  of  the  monthly 
meeting  extended,  they  could  neither  be  temporally, 
nor  spiritually,  over-looked.  At  this  meeting  also 
he  proposed  means,  which  were  acceded  to,  for  a 
more  frequent  intercourse  between  Friends  and  the 
Indians  ;  he  (William  Penn)  taking  upon  himself 
the  charge  of  procuring  interpreters,  as  well  as  of 
forwarding  the  means  proposed. 

Among  the  objects  which  occupied  his  attention 
at  this  time,  was  the  improvement  of  Philadelphia. 
When  he  left  that  city  after  his  first  voyage  it  con- 
tained about  a  hundred  houses.  At  this  time  they 
amounted  to  seven  hundred.  He  issued  an  Order 
of  Council  for  removing  all  the  slaughter-houses  to 
the  bank  of  the  river,  so  that  the  filth  proceeding 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  173 

from  thence  might  be  constantly  washed  away  by 
the  current.  He  removed  also  every  thing  in  the 
way  of  obstruction.  By  the  first  measure  he  c<^n- 
sulted  the  health  and  cleanliness,  and  by  the  latter 
the  convenience,  of  the  inhabitants. 

Having  called  the  Assembly  together  according 
to  due  form  on  the  tenth  of  May,  he  sent  them  a 
message.  Understanding  that  several  of  them  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  Charter  which  had  been  grant- 
ed to  them  by  Markham  in  1696,  he  was  desirous, 
he  said,  that  they  should  have  a  new  one,  more  con- 
genial to  their  own  minds  and  circumstances.  He 
accordingly  sent  to  inform  them,  that  "  he  was 
ready  to  propose  to  them  a  new  form  of  Govern- 
ment." This  he  chose  to  make  the  first  Act  of  the 
Session,  not  only  because  he  wished  to  show  the 
Assembly  how  far  he  regarded  their  interests  and 
those  of  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  Province  and 
Territories,  but  because,  by  starting  the  subject  thus 
early,  both  he  and  they  would  have  longer  time  to 
consider  it,  and  to  make  such  alterations  as  would 
contribute  towards  its  greater  perfection.    • 

On  the  first  of  June  he  attempted  to  realize  the 
other  part  of  his  plan  as  it  related  to  Negro  slaves, 
which  was  to  secure  a  proper  treatment  of  them 
among  all  descriptions  of  people  by  a  legislative  act. 
By  this  time  he  had  fully  considered  the  subject. 
He  was  aware  that  the  sudden  manumission  of  them 
would  not  be  attended  with  happy  consequences 
even  to  themselves.  Certain  previous  education 
would  be  necessary  ;  and  that  species  of  education 
Q2 


1^4 


MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LlFt 


would  be  best,  which  would  most  improve  their  mo- 
ral condition.  To  improve  their  moral  condition, 
recourse  must  be  had  to  moral  means.  Thus,  for 
example,  marriage  might  be  made  a  moral  mean  ; 
but  then  all  polygamy  must  be  abolished,  and  all 
power  of  adultery  prevented,  as  far  as  possible,  both 
on  the  part  of  blacks  and  whites.  Rewards  again 
might  be  used  advantageously  to  the  same  end  ; 
but  then  the  evil-doer  was  not  to  escape  punishment. 
Hence  punishment  would  be  necessary.  This,  how- 
ever, ought  to  be  proportioned  to  men's  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil,  and  the  nature  of  the  offence. 
Fair  trials  should  be  afforded  to  the  offender  also. 
Upon  these  principles  he  drew  up  a  Bill  "  for  regu- 
lating Negroes  in  their  morals  and  marriages,'' 
which  he  proposed  to  the  Assembly  on  the  day  now 
mentioned.  He  sent  in  afterwards  another  for  the 
"regulation  of  their  trials  and  punishments  ;"  and  on 
the  fourth  of  June  a  third  "  for  preventing  abuses 
upon  the  Indians."  But  he  had  no  sooner  proposed 
these,  than  his  feelings  received  as  it  were  a  convul- 
sive shock.  Can  it  be  believed,  that  the  Assembly 
could  be  so  little  studious  of  gratifying  the  wishes  of 
their  Governor,  who  had  half  ruined  himself  for 
them  and  the  Province,  could  be  so  ignorant  that 
these  his  proposals  were  built  on  the  laws  of  Na- 
ture which  were  immutable,  or  so  ungrateful  to 
^od,  who  had  furnished  them  when  in  affliction 
themselves  with  an  asylum  under  so  honourable  a 
protector,  as  to  have  negatived  two  of  these  Bills, 
acceding  only  to  that  which  related  to  the  trial  and 


OF    WILLIAM   PENN,  175 

punishment  of  their  slaves?  Yet  so  it  was.  This 
conduct  on  the  part  of  the  Assembly  must  appear 
unaccountable  to  the  reader  ;  and  to  help  him  to  un- 
ravel it  we  have  nothing  but  conjecture.  We  have 
no  reason  assigned  for  it.  Nor  is  there  any  record 
but  of  the  fact  itself.  With  respect  to  conjecture, 
there  are  circumstances,  however,  which,  when 
thrown  together,  may  produce  us  a  little  light.  In 
the  first  place,  the  administration  of  Fletcher  had 
very  much  soured  the  temper  both  of  the  Assembly 
and  the  inhabitants,  and  had  disposed  them  to  look 
cautiously  at  every  proposal  which  came  from  the 
Government,  and  rather  to  resist  than  promote  it. 
The  jealousies,  again,  which  were  mentioned  to 
have  arisen  between  the  inha'^itants  of  the  Province 
and  those  of  the  Territories,  were  in  full  force  at 
this  moment,  so  that  what  the  Representatives  of 
the  former  seemed  very  anxious  to  carry,  those  of 
the  latter  sometimes  (and  this  merely  out  of  a  spirit 
of  opposition)  negatived  to  a  man.  Now  it  must 
be  observed  that,  the  Territory-men  being  principal- 
ly Swedes  and  Dutchmen,  very  few  if  any  of  their 
members  were  Quakers.  It  must  be  observed  also, 
that  though  originally  the  Members  for  the  Pro- 
vince were  mostly  Quakers,  yet  the  proportion  of 
these,  in  consequence  of  the  great  influx  of  people 
of  a  different  description  into  Pennsylvania  in  the 
last  five  or  six  years,  had  been  reduced.  It  must 
be  observed  again,  that  the  last  comers  were  not 
men  of  such  high  moral  character  as  the  first ;  for 
whereas,  before  the  Toleration  Act,  they  who  came 


176  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

to  these  parts  were  principally  religious  persons 
who  canne  to  seek  a  place  of  refuge  from  persecu- 
tion ;  numbers  after  the  said  Act  flocked  to  it  from 
a  different  motive,  namely,  solely  that  of  getting 
money.  Hence,  not  only  the  population  of  Penn- 
sylvania, but  they  who  represented  it,  were  some- 
what degenerate  in  comparison  of  their  predeces- 
sors. Had  the  majority  consisted  of  Quakers,  both 
these  Bills  must  have  passed ;  for  it  is  impossible 
that  they  could  have  refused  to  sanction  in  their  le* 
gislative,  what  they  had  determined  upon  as  essen- 
tially necessary  in  their  religious  capacity.  Besides, 
the  Council  of  William  Penn  consisted  wholly  of 
Quakers.  Now  all  these  had  joined  the  Governor 
in  proposing  to  the  Assembly  the  Bills  in  question. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  specify  the  other  Bills  which 
were  proposed  in  the  present  session.  It  may  be 
sufficient  to  observe,  that  they  were  principally  of  a 
local  nature,  such  as  related  to  property,  land,  reve- 
nue, or  commerce,  and  that  they  were  all  passed.  In 
considering  and  passing  them  the  Assembly  were 
occupied  about  a  month.  They  met,  as  I  before 
mentioned,  on  the  tenth  of  May,  and  the  Governor 
dissolved  them  on  the  eighth  of  June. 

William  Penn,  being  now  loosed  from  his  attend- 
ance upon  the  Legislature  (for  he  was  almost  daily 
confined  to  the  Council-chamber,  while  it  was  sit- 
ting, to  receive  bills  and  messages,  and  to  hold  con- 
ferences), became  once  more  a  free  man.  Upon 
this  he  left  Philadelphia,  and  repaired  to  Pennsbury. 
While  here,  one  of  his  first  objects  was  to  put  in 


Oir    WILLIAM    PENTSr.  1*7V 

force  the  Resolution,  entered  upon  the  book  of  the 
Monthly  Meeting  of  Philadelphia,  of  keeping  up  i, 
more  frequent  intercourse  between  Friends  and  the 
Indians.  Accordingly  he  made  excursions  into  the 
country  for  this  purpose.  We  hear  of  him,  very 
soon  after  the  Assembly  had  been  dissolved,  at  an 
Indian  feast.  It  took  place  near  a  beautiful  spring 
of  water,  which  was  overhung  by  the  branches  of 
lofty  trees.  Several  bucks  were  killed.  Hot  cakes 
were  served  up  also  of  wheat  and  beans.  After 
feasting,  some  of  the  Indians  danced.  With  the 
same  view,  he  was  desirous  of  seeing  the  Indians  in 
turn  at  his  own  house.  Hence  Kings  and  Queens, 
with  their  followers,  paid  their  visits  to  him.  When 
they  came  on  public  business  or  in  state,  he  received 
them  in  his  hall  of  audience,  which  was  a  large  room 
built  for  the  purpose,  and  in  which  was  placed  an 
oaken  arm-chair,  in  which  he  usually,. $at  when  he 
conferred  with  them  on  such  occasions.  It  may  be 
observed,  that  he  made  a  treaty  about  this  time  with 
the  Susquehannah  and  other  Indians. 

While  at  Pennsbury  he  undertook  a  journey 
through  the  Province  and  Territories  as  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel.  Among  the  places  he  visited  in  this 
capacity  was  Haverford.  An  anecdote  is  recorded 
of  him  while  going  there,  which  is  worth  relating. 
A  little  girl,  of  the  name  of  Rebecca  Wood,  was 
walking  from  Derby,  where  she  resided,  to  the  same 
place,  and  also  to  attend  the  meeting  there.  It  hap- 
penned  that  William  Penn,  vvho  was  on  horseback, 
overtook  her.      "  On  commg  up  with  her,"  says 


178  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

Sutcllff,  "  he  inquired  where  she  was  going  ?  ani, 
on  informing  him,  he,  with  his  usual  good  nature, 
desired  her  to  get  up  behind  him  ;  and,  bringing  his 
horse  to  a  convenient  place,  she  mounted,  and  so 
rode  away  upon  the  bare  back.  Being  without  shoes 
or  stockings^  her  bare  legs  and  feet  hung  dangling 
by  the  side  of  the  Governor's  horse.  Although 
William  Penn  was  at  this  time  both  Governor  and 
Proprietary,  he  did  not  think  it  beneath  him  thus  to 
help  along  a  poor  bare-footed  girl  on  her  way  to 
meeting." 

It  appears  also,  while  he  was  at  Pennsbury,  that 
he  travelled  to  other  meetings  of  the  Society,  which 
were  out  of  the  limits  of  his  own  province.  Thus 
we  find  him  preaching  in  the  Jerseys.  Thus  we 
find  him  also  at  a  meeting  in  Maryland.  Of  this 
John  Richardson,  in  his  Travels,  gives  us  the  fol- 
lowing accoufU  :  "  We  were,"  says  he,  "  at  a  yearly 
meeting  atTreddhaven,  in  Maryland,  upon  the  east- 
ern shore,  to  which  meeting  for  worship  came  Wil- 
liam Penn,  Lord  Baltimore,  and  his  lady,  with  their 
retinue ;  but  it  was  late  when  they  canae,  and  the 
strength  and  glory  of  the  heavenly  power  of  the 
Lord  was  going  off  from  the  meeting  ;  so  the  lady 
was  much  disappointed,  as  I  understood  by  William 
Penn,  for  she  told  him,  '  she  did  not  want  to  hear 
him,  and  such  as  he,  for  he  was  a  scholar  and  a  wise 
man,  and  she  did  not  question  but  he  could  preach  ; 
but  she  wanted  to  hear  some  of  our  mechanics 
preach,  as  husbandmen,  shoemakers,  and  such  like 
rustics,  for  she  thought  they  could  not  preach  to  any 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  179 

purpose.'  William  Penn  told  her,  *  some  of  these 
were  rather  the  best  preachers  we  had  among  us,' 
or  near  these  words.  I  was  a  litde  in  their  com- 
pany, and  I  thought  the  lady  to  be  a  notable,  wise, 
and  withal  a  courteously  carriaged  woman."  I  may 
observe  here,  that  these  excursions  in  the  ministry, 
together  with  others  which  he  undertook  into  the 
Indian  country  as  before  mentioned,  and  to  which  I 
may  now  add  those  which  he  made  to  support  the 
Magistracy  by  his  personal  appearance  among  them, 
both  at  the  quarter  sessions  and  elsewhere,  took  up 
a  considerable  portion  of  his  time,  so  that  it  is 
doubtful  whether  he  was  not  less  at  Pennsbury  with 
his  family  than  in  other  places. 

Writs  having  been  issued,  and  a  new  Assembly 
chosen  (for  the  old  had  served  their  year,  as  limited 
by  the  Charter),  he  summoned  the  new  members  to 
attend  him  at  Newcastle  on  the  fourteenth  of  Octo- 
ber. The  former  had  met  him  at  Philadelphia,  the 
capital  of  the  Province.  He  thought  it  therefore 
but  fair,  and  as  showing  but  a  proper  impartiality, 
that  these  should  meet  him  at  the  principal  town  in 
the  Territories.  On  the  day  appointed  they  came 
together.  The  Governor  qualified  them  in  due 
form.  This  being  done,  they  chose  their  Speaker. 
The  Governor  then  informed  them  by  a  message, 
that  he  had  called  them  together  on  weighty  occa- 
sions. He  wished  them  to  proceed  in  the  consider- 
ation of  the  new  Charter  or  Frame  of  Government, 
which  the  former  Assembly  had  discussed,  but  not 
settled.     This  Charter  was  of  great  consequence 


I8d  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFi;, 

both  to  them  and  their  posterity.  It  was  of  no  less 
importance  to  both  that  they  should  have  good  laws. 
He  advised  them,  therefore,  to  revise  those  which 
had  been  agreed  upon  during  his  former  residence 
among  them,  so  that  they  might  expunge,  alter,  or 
add,  as  they  saw  occasion.  He  laid  before  them 
also  the  necessity  of  a  settlement  of  property,  and  of 
a  supply  for  the  support  of  the  Government ;  and 
he  promised  them,  during  their  endeavours  to  attain 
these  objects,  all  the  assistance  in  his  power. 

The  message  having  been  delivered,  the  House 
proceeded  to  business.  Four  Committees  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  purpose  of  dispatching  it  according 
to  the  subjects  it  contained :  namely,  for  drawing 
up  a  new  Frame  of  Government ;  for  perusing  the 
Laws  with  a  view  to  alterations,  repeals,  or  addi- 
tions ;  for  drawing  up  a  Bill  for  settling  property ; 
and  for  considering  of  a  proper  supply  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Government.  Upon  these  subjects  they 
went  to  work,  and  they  continued  their  attention  to 
them  almost  exclusively  to  the  end  of  the  session. 

They  had  not  however  made  any  great  progress 
in  their  proceedings,  before  the  same  jealous  spirit 
manifested  itself  between  the  Members  of  the  Ter- 
ritories and  those  of  the  Province,  which  has  been 
before  noticed.  The  former  had  talked  but  lately, 
as  before,  of  breaking  off  their  political  connection 
with  the  latter  ;  but  William  Penn,  by  his  wise  and 
conciliatory  deportment,  had  disarmed  them,  so  as 
then  to  have  staved  off  their  intention.  At  this 
time  however  their  jealousies  were  again  awakened, 


OF  WILLI A:>r  pr.NK*  181 

and  this  upon  bare  surmises.  They  thought  a  time 
might  come,  when  the  Province  might  be  divided 
into  more  counties,  and  that  an  additional  number 
of  Representatives  for  these  might  \yG  required.  In 
this  case  they  conceived  that  those  for  the  Province' 
might  out-number  them  in  their  votes  ;  and  they 
actually  went  so  far  as  to  declare  in  the  Assembly, 
that  they  would  not  consent  to  the  confirmation  of 
the  union,  but  on  the  condition,  "that  at  no  time 
hereafter  the  number  of  the  Representatives  of  the 
people  in  legislation  in  the  Province  should  ex- 
ceed those  of  the  Territories  ;  but  if  hereafter  more 
counties  were  made  in  the  Province,  and  therein 
more  representatives  were  added,  that  then  the 
union  should  cease."  To  this  condition  the  Mem- 
bers for  the  Province  would  not  consent.  Both  par- 
ties however  agreed  to  have  a  conference  with  the 
Governor  on  the  subject.  This  conference  accord- 
ingly took  place.  The  Governor  proposed,  "  that 
in  all  matters  and  things  whatsoever,  wherein  the 
Territories  were  or  should  be  particularly  concerned 
in  interest  or  privilege,  distinct  from  the  Province, 
then  and  in  that  case  no  Act,  Law,  or  Ordinance,  in 
any  wise  should  pass  in  any  Assembly  in  this  Pro- 
vince, unless  two  parts  in  three  of  the  Members  of  the 
said  Territories,  and  the  majority  of  the  Members 
of  the  Province,  sh6uld  concur  therein."  This  im- 
partial proposal  produced  peace  for  the  present,  the 
Members  for  the  Territories  agreeing  to  postpone 
all  discussion  on  the  subject  of  the  uaion  to  the  next 
session. 

VOL*  lU  R 


182  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

But  scarcely  was  this  matter  settled,  when  ano- 
ther was  necessarily  brought  forward,  which  divided 
them  again.  In  consequence  of  the  Report  of  one 
of  the  Committees,  it  was  agreed,  "  That  a  sum  of 
money  should  be  raised  out  of  the  Province  and 
Territories  for  the  Proprietary  and  Governor,  in 
order  to  a  supply  for  the  support  of  the  Govern- 
ment ;"  but  when  they  came  to  confer  upon  the  rais- 
ing of  it,  they  could  not  agree  upon  what  should  be 
the  proportion  between  the  Province  and  Territories. 
It  was  proposed,  first,  that  three  pence  per  pound 
should  be  laid  upon  all  estates,  both  real  and  per- 
sonal, in  the  Province  and  Territories,  for  this  pur- 
pose. This  proposition  was  negatived.  It  was  then 
moved,  that  two  pence  in  the  pound,  and  eight  shil- 
lings per  head,  for  every  freeman  in  the  Province 
and  Territories,  should  be  raised.  This  was  nega- 
tived also.  It  vv'as  then  moved  that  three  halfpence 
in  the  pound,  and  six  shillings  per  head  to  every 
freeman,  should  be  substituted  for  the  former  mode. 
This  was  negatived  also.  It  was  then  moved,  that 
three  pence  per  pound,  and  twelve  shillings  per 
liead,  should  be  collected,  but  that  one  penny  per 
pound  of  v/hat  it  raised  in  the  Territories  should  be 
returned  to  the  latter  in  consideration  of  their  ex- 
traordinary charge  in  legislation.  This  was  nega- 
tived also.  And  here  it  must  be  observed,  that  the 
Members  of  the  Territories  voted  to  a  man  exactly 
the  reverse  of  what  those  of  the  Province  did  on 
every  one  of  these  occasions.  In  this  awkward 
situation  the  supply  never  would  have  been  carried, 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  183 

it  had  not  been  for  the  wisdom  of  William  Penn, 
who  had  entered  into  all  the  objections  on  both  sides 
with  great  minuteness  and  impartiality,  and  who  de- 
sired a  conference  with  the  Assembly  on  the  sub- 
ject. It  was  proposed  by  him  that  nineteen  hundred 
pounds  should  be  raised  in  the  Province  and  Terri- 
tories, four  hundred  of  which  should  be  paid  out  of 
the  Territories,  clear  of  all  charges  of  collection, 
and  fifteen  hundred  out  of  the  Province,  clear  of  the 
same  charges,  for  the  support  of  the  Government, 
It  was  immediately  afterwards  proposed,  that  one 
hundred  pounds  should  be  added  to  the  aforesaid 
nineteen  hundred,  seventy-three  pounds  of  which 
should  be  paid  out  of  the  Province,  and  the  residue, 
twenty-seven  pounds,  out  of  the  Territories,  for  the 
same  purpose.  It  was  proposed  lastly,  that  the 
Counties  should  pay  their  proportion  as  follows  : 
Philadelphia  County  one  thousand  and  twenty-five 
pounds,  Chester  three  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
Bucks  two  hundred  and  twenty-five,  Newcastle  one 
hundred  and  eighty,  Kent  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine,  and  Sussex  one  hundred  and  six.  These  pro- 
positions were  severally  agreed  to.  They  were  then 
incorporated  into  a  Bill,  and  in  this  shape  brought 
again  before  the  House  and  passed.  Thus  at  length 
was  completed  a  Law,  the  principle  and  equity  of 
which  were  admitted  by  the  discordant  parties,  and 
which  provided  permanently  for  the  first  time  for 
the  good  government  of  the  two  federated  coun- 
tries. 


184  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIfE 

William  Penn  having  obtained  this  supply,  which 
was  more  immediately  wanted  either  than  the  alter- 
ation of  the  Charter  or  the  revision  of  the  Laws, 
was  not  so  urgent  for  their  determination  upon  the 
latter.  These  indeed  were  so  important  both  to 
them  and  their  posterity,  that  they  could  not  well  be 
too  often  or  too  seriously  discussed.  He  therefore 
prorogued  the  Assembly  on  the  twenty-seventh  of 
November,  after  having  kept  it  sitting  for  about  six 
weeks. 

In  looking  over  the  Journals  of  the  Proceedings 
of  this  Session  we  are  furnished  with  certain  facts 
trifling  in  themselves,  but  which  yet,  as  matters  of 
curiosity,  may  be  worth  noticing.  It  appears  first, 
that  but  very  few  Members  absented  themselves 
during  the  whole  session.  They  used  to  meet  twice 
a  day  for  the  dispatch  of  business,  namely,  at  eight 
in  the  morning  and  three  in  the  afternoon.  They 
were  called  together  by  the  ringing  of  a  bell.  Any 
Member  who  was  half  an  hour  behind  the  time  was 
lined  ten  pence.  Every  Member  had  an  allowance 
of  three  pence  per  mile  for  travelling  charges,  and 
six  shillings  a  day  for  his  attendance  in  Assembly. 
The  Speaker's  daily  allowance  was  ten  shillings. 
Aurelius  Hoskins  had  twenty  pounds  for  his  attend- 
unce  as  Clerk.  The  Assembly  was  to  sit  in  future 
once  in  three  times  in  the  Territories,  and  the 
county  in  which  they  sat  to  pay  the  expense  of  room, 
fire,  and  paper. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  185 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


A,  1701 — sets  out  for  East  Jersey  to  quell  a  riot 
there — extracts  from  a  letter  written  on  that  oc* 
casion — makes  a  treaty  xvith  the  Susquehannah 
and  other  Indians — suggests  a  plan  of  trade  xvith 
them^  to  secure  them  from  imposition  and  to  im- 
prove their  ynorals^-^calls  the  Assembly — their 
proceedings — issues  an  order  to  xvatch  against 
invasion — re?iezus  a  treaty  with  another  tribe  of 
Indians — account  of  it — being  called  to  England^ 
summons  the  Assembly  again — its  proceedings — • 
several  tribes  of  Indians  come  to  take  their  leave 
of  him — his  reply  to  the  same — signs  a  new  Char- 
ter — constitutes  and  incorporeites  Philadelphia  a 
city — appoints  a  Council  of  State — and  a  Deputy 
Governor — embarks  for  England — arrives  there^ 

William  Penn  was  with  his  wife  and  family  at 
Pennsbury,  when  ho  received  the  news  that  a.  riot 
had  taken  place  in  East  Jersey,  during  which  some 
of  the  persons  concerned  in  it  had  taken  arms^  It 
appears  that  a  criminal  had  dared  to  put  insolent 
questions  to  a  Magistrate  in  Court,  and  because  the 
Magistrate  had  refused  to  answer  them  the  commo- 
tion  had  arisen.  William  Penn,  on  the  receipt  of 
the  intelligence,  hastened  to  Philadelphia,-  and 
there  selected  twelve  of  the  most  respectable  of  his 
own  Society,  with  whom  he  was  proceeding  to  assist 
R2 


186  MEMOIRS    OF    fHE    LIFE 

the  Government  in  East  Jersey  to  get  the  better  of 
the  insurgents ;  but  being  informed  on  his  way  that 
the  matter  had  been  settled,  he  returned  home. 
He  dispatched  however  a  letter  to  his  Friends  in 
that  Government,  by  which  we  see  his  sentiments 
in  such  cases;  and  that,  though  he  was  meek  and 
tender  in  his  nature,  he  could  yet  be  firm  where  the 
t  ause  of  justice  required  it.  He  tells  his  Friends, 
that  he  "  had  received  the  surprising  news  of  the 
practices  of  some  East  Jersians,  which  were  as  un- 
v:xpected  to  him  as  dishonourable  and  licentious  in 
them.  It  would  be  hard  to  find  temper  enough  to 
balance  extremes;  for  he  knew  not  what  punish- 
ment those  rioters  did  not  deserve,  and  he  had 
rather  live  alone  than  not  have  such  people  corri- 
gible. Their  leaders  should  be  eyed,  and  some 
should  be  forced  to  declare  them  by  the  rigour  of 
the  law;  and  those  who  were  found  to  be  such 
should  bear  the  burthen  of  such  sedition,  which 
would  be  the  best  way  to  behead  the  body  without 
danger.  If  lenitives  would  not  do,  coercives  should 
he  tried;  but  though  men  would  naturally  begin 
^vith  the  former,  yet  wisdom  had  often  sanctioned 
the  latter  as  remedies,  which  however  were  never 
to  be  adopted  but  with  regret."  Further  on  in  the 
letter,  he  says,  "  that  by  being  an  old,  and  not  the 
least  pretender  to  East  Jersey,  and  a  neighbour  in 
his  station,  if  he  could  yet  be  serviceable  to  com- 
pose or  countenance  a  just  prosecution  of  such  re- 
hellious  practices,  let  an  express  reach  him,  and, 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  1ST 

God  permitting,  he  would  immediately  take  horse 
and  go  to  them." 

^  Soon  after  this  he  left  Pennsbury  for  Philadelphia 
again.  He  met  there  Connoodaghtoh,  King  of  the 
Sasquehannah- Indians;  Wopaththa,  King  of  the 
Shawanese;  Weewhinjough,  Chief  of  the  Gana- 
wese ;  and  Ahookassong,  brother  of  the  Emperor 
of  the  five  nations,  with  about  forty  Indians  in  their 
retinue,  who  came  to  renew  the  good  understanding 
which  had  subsisted  between  him  and  them,  by  one 
general  treaty  for  the  whole.  It  is  said  that  he  re- 
ceived them  in  Council,  and  that  many  kind 
speeches  passed  between  them.  This  was  on  the 
twenty-third  of  April ;  when  it  was  agreed  that 
there  should  be  for  ever  after  a  firm  and  lasting 
peace  between  William  Penn  and  his  heirs,  and  the 
said  Kings  and  Chiefs  and  their  successors  in  be- 
half of  their  respective  tribes ;  and  that  they  should 
be  as  one  head  and  one  heart ;  and  that  they  should 
at  no  time  hurt,  injure,  or  defraud  each  other,  or 
suffer  each  other  to  be  hurt,  injured,  or  defrauded  ; 
but  that  they  should  be  ready  at  all  times  to  do  jus- 
tice, and  perform  all  acts  and  offices  of  friendship 

and  good-will  to  each  other that  the  Indians 

should  behave  themselves  regularly  and  soberly 
according  to  the  laws  of  Pennsylvania  while  they 
lived  in  it,  and  that  they  should  have  in  return  the 
same  benefit  from  the  said  laws  as  the  other  in- 
habitants of  it that  they  should  not  aid  or  assist 

any  other  nation,  whether  Indians  or  others,  that 
v/ere  not  in  amity  with  England  and  the  Govern- 


18§  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ment  of  Pennsylvania that  if  any  of  them  heard 

any  unkind  or  disadvantageous  reports  of  the  Penn- 
sylvanians,  as  if  they  had  evil  designs  against  them, 
(the  Indians,)  then  such  Indians  should  send  notice 
thereof  to  William  Penn,  his  heirs,  or  lieutenants, 
and  not  give  credence  to  such  reports  till  by  these 
means  they  could  be  fully  satisfied  concerning  the 
truth  of  the  same;  and  that  William  Penn,  his 
heirs,  or  lieutenants,  should  in  such  case  do  the 

like  by  them that  they  should  not   bring  nor 

suffer  any  strange  nations  of  Indians  to  settle  on 
the  further  side  of  Susquehannah,  nor  about  Poto- 
mack  river,  nor  in  any  other  part  of  the  province, 
but  such  as  were  there  already  seated,  without  the 
permission  of  William  Penn,  his  heirs,  or  lieute- 
nants  that  for  the  prevention  of  abuses,  tha^ 

were  too  frequently  put  upon  them  in  trade,  Wil- 
liam Penn,  his  heirs,  or  lieutenants,  should  not 
permit  any  person  to  traffic  with  them,  but  such 
as  should  have  been  first  approved  and  authorized 
by  an  instrument  under  their  own  hands  and  seals, 
and  that  the  Indians,  on  their  part,  should  suffer  no 
person  whatsoever  to  trade  with  them,  but  such  as 

should  have  been  so  licensed  and  approved that 

they  should  not  sell  their  skins,  furs,  or  other  pro- 
'duce,  to  persons  out  of  the  said  province,  but  only 
to  those  publicly  authorized  to  trade  with  them  as 
before  mentioned;  and  that,  for  their  encourage- 
ment, care  should  be  taken  that  they  should  be 
duly  furnished  with  all  sorts  of  necessary  goods, 
and  at  reasonable  rates that  the  Potomack  In 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  189 

dians  should  have  free  leave  to  setde  upon  any  part 
of  Potomack  river  within  the  bounds  of  the  pro- 
vince, so  long  as  they  conformed  themselves  to  the 
articles  of  this  treaty. 

The  treaty  having  been  read,  (by  which  the  Co- 
nestogo  Indians  acknowledged  and  bound  them- 
selves to  all  the  bargains  for  lands  made  between 
them  and  William  Penn,  as  well  those  formerly  as 
in  the  preceding  year,)  the  parties  confirmed  it  by 
mutual  presents,  the  Indians  in  five  parcels  of  skins, 
and  William  Penn  in  various  parcels  of  English 
merchandize,  and  also  by  putting  their  hands  and 
seals  to  the  same. 

Soon  after  this  William  Penn,  in  conformity  with 
the  said  treaty,  conferred  with  his  Council  as  to  the 
best  means  of  preventing  impositions  on  the  Indians 
in  the  way  of  trade.  After  deliberation  upon  the 
subject  it  was  resolved,  that  persons  should  be  se* 
lectedfor  their  integrity^  who  should  form  a  sort  of 
company,  with  a  joint  stock,  and  who  should  be 
authorized  by  the  Government  to  hold  a  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  them.  These  however  were 
to  be  instructed  to  take  care  to  keep  from  them 
spirituous  liquors  as  much  as  possible.  They  were 
also  to  use  all  reasonable  means  to  bring  them  to  a 
true  sense  of  the  value  of  Christianity,  but  particu- 
larly by  setting  before  them  examples  of  probity 
and  candour,  and  to  have  them  instructed  in  the 
fundamentals  of  it.  This  was  probably  the  first 
time  that  trade  was  expressly  made  subservient  to 
morals,  and  to  the  promotion  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion. 


190  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

In  the  month  of  June  (the  sea  coast  having  been 
infested  by  pirates,  and  danger  being  then  appre- 
hended of  French  invasion)  he  summoned  his 
Council  again,  after  which  the  following  Order 
appeared  :  "  The  Magistrates  for  the  county  of 
Sussex  shall  take  care  that  a  constant  watch  and 
ward  be  kept  on  the  hithermost  cape  near  Lewis; 
and  in  case  any  vessel  appear  from  the  sea,  that 
may  with  good  grounds  be  suspected  of  evil  designs 
against  any  part  of  the  Government,  Ordered  that 
the  said  watch  shall  forthwith  give  notice  thereof, 
with  as  exact  a  description  and  account  of  the  ves- 
sel as  they  possibly  can,  to  the  Sheriff  of  the  said 
county,  who  is  required  immediately  to  dispatch  a 
messenger  express  with  the  same  to  the  county  of 
Kent,  from  thence  to  be  forwarded  from  Sheriff  to 
Sheriff  through  every  county,  till  it  be  brought  to 
the  Government  at  Philadelphia;  which  watch  and 
expresses  shall  be  a  provincial  charge." 

In  the  month  of  July  having  received  a  letter 
from  the  King,  urging  him  to  bring  the  Province 
and  Territories  into  union  with  the  other  Proprie- 
tary Governments  for  their  mutual  defence,  he  called 
the  Assembly.  They  met  accordingly  on  the  first 
of  August.  He  informed  them  in  substance,  that 
the  occasion  of  his  calling  them  together  at  this 
time  (though  it  was  with  reluctance  considering 
the  season)  was  to  lay  before  them  the  King's 
letter,  requiring  three,  hundred  and  fifty  pounds 
sterling  from  the  Government  towards  the  fortifi- 
cations intended  on  the  frontiers  of  New  York,  and, 
though  he  might  have  some  other  matters  to  lay 


OT  WILLIAM    PENN.  191 

before  them,  yet  he  deferred  all  till  they  had  consi- 
dered this  point. 

This  message,  which  it  must  have  been  difficult 
for  William  Penn  as  a  Quaker  to  communicate,  as 
well  as  for  those,  who  professed  the  same  religious 
faith,  to  accede  to,  could  not  but  disturb  the  As- 
sembly. Indeed  it  seems  to  have  paralyzed  them* 
They  scarcely  knew  what  to  do.  They  seemed 
to  be  willing  to  do  any  thing  rather  than  to  come  to 
a  conclusion  upon  it.  They  asked  first  to  see  the 
letter  itself.  When  it  had  been  shown  them,  they 
observed,  that  it  was  dated  some  time  back.  They 
sent  therefore  to  the  Governor  to  know,  if  he  had 
received  from  the  King  any  information  since.  He 
replied  in  the  negative.  They  then  requested,  that 
he  would  send  them  a  copy  of  his  own  speech.  He 
replied,  that  it  had  not  been  his  way  so  to  do.  They 
renewed  their  request.  He  then  sent  them  his  speech 
in  substance.  They  applied  to  him  to  give  it  them 
more  fully,  "for  it  was  somewhat  short  of  what 
they  apprehended  needful  to  ground  their  intended 
address  upon,  no  particular  mention  being  made  in 
the  copy  sent  them  either  of  the  King's  letter  or  of 
the  sum  to  be  raised.''  He  returned  for  answer, 
that  his  speech  had  been  delivered  extempore,  and 
that  he  had  sent  them  the  substance  of  what  he  re- 
collected of  it;  but  if  they  thought  the  particular 
insertion  of  the  King's  letter  needful,  he  would 
order  it  to  be  inserted.  After  this,  both  parties 
having  been  in  a  state  of  unpleasant  parley  for  four 
days,  the  Assembly  sent  an  address  to  him,  in 


192  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

which  they  stated  their  loyalty  ;  but  represented, 
among  other  things,  that  "after  having  taken  into 
consideration  the  poverty  of  their  constituents,  and 
the  great  weight  and  pressure  of  the  taxes,  and  hav- 
ing reason  to  believe  that  the  adjacent  provinces 
had  hitherto  done  nothing  in  this  matter,  they 
thought  it  right  to  adjourn  the  further  considera- 
tion of  the  King's  letter  till  more  emergent  oc- 
casions should  require  their  proceedings  therein. 
In  the  mean  time  they  earnestly  desired  he  would 
candidly  represent  their  situation  to  the  King,  and 
assure  him  of  their  readiness,  according  to  their 
abilities,  to  acquiesce  with  and  answer  his  com- 
mands, so  far  as  their  religious  persuasions  would 
permit,  as  it  became  loyal  and  faithful  subjects  to 
do."  The  next  afternoon  the  Assembly  was  dis- 
solved, but  at  their  own  request,  after  a  sitting  of 
only  six  days. 

William  Penn  upon  this  returned  to  Pennsbury 
to  consider  of  the  past,  and  to  provide  for  the 
future.  Here,  another  tribe  of  Indians,  which  had 
not  gone  down  to  Philadelphia  with  those  which 
have  been  before  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  came 
to  him  to  renew  the  treaty  which  he  had  made  with 
it  after  his  first  voyage  to  these  parts.  John 
Richardson,  a  Yorkshire  Quaker,  who  was  then 
travelling  in  America  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel, 
happened  to  be  at  Pennsbury  at  the  time,  and  to 
witness  what  was  done  on  the  occasion.  He  has 
given  an  account  of  it  in  his  Journal,  but  confesses 
that  he  has  omitted  many  particulars.     Imperfect. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  193 

however,  as  the  account  is,  I  purpose  transcribing  it 
for  the  reader. 

*'  I  was,"  says  he,  "  at  William  Penn's  country- 
house,  called  Pennsbury  in  Pennsylvania,  where  I 
staid  two  or  three  days,  on  one  of  which  I  was  at  a 
meeting  and  a  marriage,  and  much  of  the  other  part 
of  the  time  I  spent  in  seeing,  to  my  satisfaction, 
WiUiam  Penn  and  many  of  the  Indians  (not  the 
least  of  them)  in  council  and  consultation  concern- 
ing their  former  covenants  now  again  revived  ;  all 
which  was  done  in  much  calmness  of  temper  and  in 
an  amicable  way.  To  pass  by  several  particulars, 
I  may  mention  the  following  :  one  was,  they  never 
first  broke  their  covenants  with  other  people;  for,  as 
one  of  them  said,  and  smote  his  hand  upon  his  head 
three  times,  they  did  not  make  them  there  in  their 
heads;  but  smiting  his  hand  three  times  on  his 
breast,  said,  they  made  them  there  in  their  hearts* 
And  again,  when  William  Penn  and  they  had 
ended  the  most  weighty  parts,  for  which  they  held 
their  Council,  William  Penn  gave  them  match- 
coats  and  some  other  things,  with  some  brandy  and 
rum,  or  both,  which  was  advised  by  the  speaker  for 
the  Indians  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  one  of  their 
Caciques,  or  Kings,  for  he  knew  best  how^  to  order 
them  ;  which  being  done,  the  said  King  used  no 
CO  npiiments,  neither  did  the  People,  nor  the  rest  of 
their  Kings  :  but  as  the  aforesaid  King  poured  out 
his  drams,  he  only  made  a  motion  with  his  finger, 
or  sometimes  with  his  eye,  to  the  person  which  he 
intended  to  give  the  dram  to  :  so  they  came  quietly 

VOL.  II.  S 


194  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

and  in  a  solid  manner,  and  took  their  drams,  and 
passed  away  without  either  nod  or  bow,  any  further 
than  necessity  required  those  to  stoop,  who  were  on 
their  feet,  to  him  who  sat  on  the  ground  or  floor,  as 
their  choice  and  manner  is  :  and  withal  I  observed, 
and  also  heard  the  like  by  others,  that  they  did  not^ 
nor,  I  suppose,  never  do  speak  two  at  a  time^  nor 
interfere  in  the  least  one  with  another  that  way  in 
all  their  Councils,  as  has  been  observed.  Their 
eating  and  drinking  was  in  much  stillness  and 
quietness. 

"  When  much  of  the  matters  were  gone  through, 
I  put  William  Penn  in  mind  to  inquire  of  the  inter- 
preter, if  he  could  find  some  terms  of  words  that 
might  be  intelligible  to  them,  in  a  religious  sense, 
by  which  he  might  reach  the  understandings  of  the 
natives,  and  inculcate  into  their  minds  a  sense  of 
the  principles  of  Truth,  such  as  Christ^s  manifest- 
ing himself  to  the  inward  senses  of  the  soul  b}  his 
Light,  Grace,  or  Holy  Spirit,  with  the  manner  of 
the  operations  and  working  thereof  in  the  hearts  of 
the  children  of  men  ;  and  how  it  did  reprove  for 
evil  and  minister  peace  and  comfort  to  the  soul  in 
its  obedience  and  well-doing :   or  as  near  as  he 
could  come  to  the  substance  of  this  in  their  own 
language.     William  Penn  much  pressed  the  matter 
upon  the  interpreter  to  do  his  best  in  any  terms  that 
might  reach  their  capacities,  and  answer  the  end  in- 
tended :  but  the  interpreter  would  not,  either  by 
reason,  as  he  alleged,  of  want  of  terms,  or  his  un- 
willingness to  meddle  in  religious  matters,  which  I 


OF  WILLIAM  PENN.  195 

know  not:  but  I  rather  think  the  latter  was  the 
main  reason  which  obstructed  him.  Therefore  we 
found  nothing  was  like  to  be  done  according  to  our 
desires  in  this  matter,  as  the  interpreter  was  but  a 
dark  man,  and,  as  William  Penn  said,  a  wrong  man 
for  our  present  purpose. 

"  William  Penn  said,  he  understood  they  owned 
a  Superior  Power,  and  asked  the  interpreter,  what 
their  notion  was  of  God  in  their  own  way.    The  in- 
terpreter showed  by  making  several  circles  on  the 
ground  with  his  staiF,  till  he  reduced  the  last  into  a 
small  circumference,  and  placed,  as  he  said,  by  way 
of  representation,  the  Great  Man  (as  they  termed 
him)  in  the  middle  circle,  so  that  he  could  see  over 
all  the  other  circles,  which  included  all  the  earth. 
And  we  querying  what  they  owned  as  to  eternity 
or  a  future  state,  the  interpreter  said,  they  believed, 
when  such  died,  as  were  guilty  of  v  theft,  swearing, 
lying,  whoring,  murder,  and  the  like,  they  went 
into  a  very  cold  country,  where  they  had  neither 
good  fat  venison,  nor  match-coats  (which  is  what 
they  use  instead  of  clothes  to  cover  them  withal, 
being  of  one  piece  in  the  form  of  a  blanket  or  bed- 
covering)  ;  but  those  who  died  clear  of  the  afore- 
said sins,  go  into  a  fine  warm  country,  where  they 
had  good  fat  venison  and  good  match-coats  (things 
much  valued  by  the  natives).     I  thought,  inasmuch 
as  these  poor  creatures  had  not  the  knowledge  of 
God  by  the  Scriptures,  as  we  have  who  are  called 
Christians,  that  what  knowledge  they  had  of  the 
Supreme  Being  must  be  by  an  inward  sensation^  or^ 


196  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

by  contemplating  upon  the  works  of  God  in  the 
creation,  or  probably  from  some  tradition  handed 
down  from  the  father  to  the  son,  by  which  it  ap- 
pears they  acknowledge  a  future  state  of  rewards 
and  punishments ;  the  former  of  which  they  express 
by  warmth,  good  clothing,  and  food  ;  and  the  latter 
by  nakedness,  pining,  hunger,  and  piercing  cold. 

"  I  have  often  thought  and  said,  when  I  was 
amongst  them,  that  generally  my  spirit  was  very 
easy,  and  I  did  not  feel  that  power  of  darkness  to 
oppress  me  as  I  had  done  in  many  places  among  the 
people  called  Christians. 

"  After  William  Penn  and  they  had  expressed 
their  satisfaction,  both  for  themselves  and  their 
people,  in  keeping*  all  their  former  articles  un- 
violated^  and  agreed  that,  if  any  particular  differ- 
ences did  happen  amongst  any  of  their  people,  they 
should  not  be  an  occasion  of  fomenting  or  creating 
any  war  between  William  Penn's  people  and  the 
Indians,  but  justice  should  be  done  in  all  such 
cases,  that  all  animosities  might  be  prevented  on  all 
sides  for  ever,  they  went  out  of  the  house  into  an 
open  place  not  far  from  it,  to  perform  their  Cantico 
or  worship,  which  was  done  thus :  First,  they  made 
a  small  fire,  and  the  men  without  the  women  sat 
down  about  it  in  a  ring ;  and  whatsoever  object 
they  severally  fixed  their  eyes  on,  I  did  not  see 
them  move  them  in  all  that  part  of  their  worship, 
while  they  sang  a  very  melodious  hymn,  which  af- 
fected and  tendered  the  hearts  of  many  who  were 
spectators.     When  they  had  thus  done,  they  began 


OF    WILLIAM    PENS.  19? 

(as  I  suppose  in  their  usual  manner  j  to  beat  upon 
the  ground  with  little  sticks,  or  make  some  motion 
with  something  in  their  hands,  and  pause  a  little, 
till  one  of  the  elder  sort  sets  forth  his  hymn,  follow- 
ed by  the  company  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
a  pause  ;  and  then  the  like  was  done  by  another, 
and  so  by  a  third,  and  followed  by  the  company,  as 
at  the  first ;  which  seemed  exceedingly  to  affect 
them  and  others.  Having  done,  they  rose  up  and 
danced  a  little  about  the  fire,  and  parted  with  some 
shouting  like  triumph  or  rejoicing." 

About  this  time  William  Penn  received  news 
from  England  which  was  very  distressing.  The 
Proprietary  Governors  in  North  America  had 
begun  to  be  unpopular  with  the  Governors  at  home. 
The  truth  was,  that  the  Governors  at  home  were 
jealous  of  their  increasing  power,  and  therefore 
soon  after  the  Revolution  in  1688  they  had  formed 
a  notion  of  buying  them  off,  and  of  changing  iheit 
Governments  into  regal  under  their  own  immediate 
controul.  Conformably  therefore  with  this  idea, 
but  under  the  pretence  of  great  abuse  on  the  one 
side  and  of  national  advantage  on  the  other,  a  Bill 
for  this  purpose  was  brought  into  the  House  of 
Lords.  Such  of  the  owners  of  land  in  Pennsylvania 
as  were  then  in  England  represented  the  hardship 
of  their  case  to  Parliament  in  the  event  of  such  a 
change,  and  solicited  a  respite  of  their  proceedings 
till  William  Penn  could  arrive  in  England  to  appear 
before  them,  and  to  answer  for  himself  as  one  of 
those  whose  character  the  Bill  in  question  affected. 
S2 


1S8  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Accordingly  they  dispatched  to  him  an  account  of 
the  whole  affair,  and  solicited  his  immediate  return 
to  England.  This  was  the  substance  of  the  news 
which  reached  him  at  this  moment. 

William  Penn  could  not  be  otherwise  than  griev- 
ed at  this  intelligence.  He  was  only  then  beginning 
as  it  were  his  intended  improvements.  To  be  call- 
ed away  therefore  at  this  juncture  was  peculiarly 
distressing.  To  stay,  on  the  other  hand,  would  be 
to  subject  his  Government  to  dissolution.  He  de- 
termined therefore,  after  a  comparative  view  of  the 
good  and  evil  in  both  cases,  to  return  to  England, 
and  to  plead  his  cause  before  the  Parliament  of  the 
Parent-Country.  It  was  necessary,  how^evcr,.  be- 
fore he  returned,  that  he  should  attend  to  the  finish- 
ing of  those  Laws  which  were  then  before  the  As- 
sembly, as  well  as  to  others  which  he  might  have 
had  it  in  contemplation  to  introduce.  He  therefore 
immediately  dispatched  writs  to  the  Sheriffs  to  call 
a  new  Assembly.  This  was  quickly  done.  The 
members  were  as  quickly  chosen.  On  the  fifteenth 
day  of  September  they  met  at  Philadelphia  ;  after 
which,  having  been  legally  qualified,  the  Governor 
addressed  them  as  follows  : 
"  Friends, 

''  You  cannot  be  more  concerned  than  I  am  at  the 
frequency  of  your  service  in  Assembly,  since  1  am 
very  sensible  of  the  trouble  and  charge  it  contracts 
upon  the  Country  :  but  the  motives  being  consider- 
ed,, and  that  you  must  have  met  of  course  in  the 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  199 

next  month,  I  hope  yoa  will  not  think  it  an  hardship 
now. 

"  The  reason  that  hastens  your  session  is  the  ne- 
cessity I  am  under,  through  the  endeavours  of  the 
enemies  of  the  prosperity  of  this  Country,  to  go  for 
England,  where,  taking  advantage  of  my  absence, 
some  have  attempted  bv  false  or  unreasonable  charges 
to  undermine  our  Government,  and  thereby  the 
true  value  of  our  labours  and  prosperity.  Govern- 
ment having  been  our  first  encouragement,  I  confess 
I  cannot  think  of  such  a  voyage  without  great  reluc- 
tancy  of  mind,  having  promised  myself  the  quietness 
of  a  wilderness,  and  that  I  might  stay  so  long  at  least 
'with  you  as  to  render  every  body  entirely  easy  and 
safe  ;  for  my  heart  is  among  you  as  well  as  my  body, 
whatever  some  people  may  please  to  think  :  and  no 
unkindness  or  disappointment  shall,  with  submis- 
sion to  God's  providence,  ever  be  able  to  alter  my 
love  to  the  Country,  and  resolution  to  return  and 
setde  my  family  and  posterity  in  it :  but  having  rea- 
son to  believe  I  can  at  this  time  best  serve  you  and 
myself  on  that  side  of  the  water,  neither  the  rude- 
ness of  the  season  nor  the  tender  circumstances  of 
my  family  can  over-rule  my  inclinations  to  under- 
take it. 

"  Think  therefore  (since  all  men  are  mortal)  of 
some  suitable  expedient  and  provision  for  your  safe- 
ty, as  well  in  your  privileges  as  property,  and  you 
will  find  me  ready  to  comply  with  whatsoever  may 
render  us  happy  by  a  nearer  union  of  our  interests. 


200  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    LIFE 

"  Review  again  your  laws ;  propose  new  ones 
that  may  better  suit  your  circumstances  ;  and  what 
you  do,  do  it  quickly  ;  remembering  that  the  Par- 
liament sits  the  end  of  next  month  ;  and  that  the 
sooner  I  am  there,  the  safer,  I  hope,  we  shall  be 
here. 

"  I  must  recommend  to  your  serious  thoughts 
and  care  the  King's  letter  to  tne,  for  the  assistance 
of  New  York  with  350/.  sterling,  as  a  Frontier- Go- 
vernment, and  therefore  exposed  to  a  much  greater 
expense,  in  proportion  to  other  Colonies  ;  which  I 
called  the  Assembly  to  take  into  their  consideration, 
and  they  were  pleased  for  the  reasons  then  given  to 
refer  to  this. 

"  I  am  also  to  tell  you  the  good  news  of  the  Go- 
vernor of  New  York's  happy  issues  of  his  confe- 
rences with  the  five  nations  of  Indians  ;  that  he  hath 
not  only  made  peace  with  them  for  the  King's  sub- 
jects of  that  Colony,  but,  as  I  had  by  some  letters 
before  desired  him,  for  those  of  all  other  Govern- 
ments under  the  Crown  of  England  on  the  Conti- 
nent of  America,  as  also  the  nations  of  Indians 
within  these  respective  Colonies;  which  certainly 
merits  our  acknowledgments. 

"  I  have  done  when  I  have  told  you  that  unani^ 
mity  and  dispatch  are  the  life  of  business  ;  and  this 
I  desire  and  expect  from  you  for  your  own  sakes, 
since  it  may  so  much  contribute  to  the  disappoint- 
ment of  those  that  too  long  have  sought  the  ruin  of 
your  young  Country.'^ 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  201 

To  this  speech  the  Assembly  returned  the  fol- 
lowing reply  : 

**  May  it  please  the  Proprietary 
and  Governor: 

'^  We  have  this  da)^  in  our  Assembly  read  thy 
Speech,  delivered  to  us  yesterday  in  Council,  and, 
having  duly  considered  the  same,  cannot  but  be  un- 
der a  deep  sense  of  sorrow  for  thy  purpose  of  so 
speedily  leaving  us;  and,  at  the  same  time,  taking 
notice  of  thy  paternal  regard  to  us  and  our  posteri- 
ty, the  Freeholders  of  this  Province  and  Territo- 
ries annexed,  in  thy  loving  and  kind  expressions  of 
being  ready  to  comply  with  whatsoever  expedient 
and  provision  we  shall  offer  for  our  safety,  as  well  in 
privileges  as  in  property,  and  what  else  may  render 
us  happy  in  a  nearer  union  of  our  interests  ;  not 
doubting  the  performance  of  what  thou  hast  been 
pleased  so  lovingly  to  promise,  we  do  in  much  hu- 
mility, and  as  a  token  of  our  gratitude,  render  unto 
thee  the  unfeigned  thanks  of  this  House. 

"  Joseph  Growdon,  Speaker.'* 

On  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  the  Assembly 
occupied  themselves  in  forming  Committees  and 
making  arrangements  for  the  dispatch  of  business, 
when  the  question  for  raising  money  fur  the  fortifi- 
cations of  New  York  was  proposed  to  them.  This, 
however,  they  negatived  unanimously,  alleging  in 
justification  of  themselves  the  reasons  before  given. 

On  the  twentieth  they  presented  the  Governor 
with  an  Address,  containing  twenty^one  articles, 
relative  to    privileges  and   property,    which    they 


202  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

hoped  might  be  acceded  to,  and  ascertained  to  them 
and  their  posterity  in  their  Charter. 

The  first  of  these  related  to  his  Successor.  To 
this  he  replied,  that  he  would  take  care  to  appoint  a 
proper  person,  one  of  unexceptionable  character, 
and  in  whom  he  could  confide,  and  whom  he  would 
invest  with  full  powers  for  the  security  of  all  con- 
cerned ;  but,  to  show  how  much  he  wished  to  grati- 
fy them  in  this  respect,  he  offered  to  accept  a  Depu- 
ty Governor  whom  they  might  nominate  themselves. 
This  offer  they  declined,  but  with  many  thanks  for 
it ;  alleging,  as  a  reason,  that  they  did  not  presume 
to  a  sufficiency  of  knowledge  to  nominate  such  as 
might  be  duly  qualified  for  so  high  an  employ. 

There  were  also  nine  of  the  articles  which  he  ac- 
ceded to  in  the  fullest  extent,  and  for  which  con- 
cession they  returned  him  also  their  humble 
thanks. 

With  respect  to  some  of  the  others,  he  negatived 
them  at  once.  Among  these  I  may  notice  the  thir- 
teenth and  sixteenth.  By  the  thirteenth  they  re- 
quested, "  that  all  lands  in  the  said  counties,  not  yet 
taken  up,  might  be  disposed  of  at  the  old  rent  of  a 
bushel  of  zvheat  in  a  hundred.  His  answer  in  wri- 
ting was,  ^  I  think  this  an  unreasonable  article,  either 
to  limit  me  in  that  which  is  my  own,  or  to  deprive 
me  of  the  benefit  of  raising  in  proportion  to  the  ad- 
vantage which  time  gives  to  other  men's  properties ; 
and  the  rather  because  I  am  yet  in  disburse  for  that 
long  and  expensive  controversy  with  the  Lord  Bal- 
timore, promised  to  be  defrayed  by  the  public  as  ap- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  203 

pears  by  the  Minutes  in  Council.'  By  the  sixteenth 
they  requested,  that  all  the  Bay-marshes  be  laid  out 
in  common,  except  such  as  were  already  granted. 
^  This,'  says  he  in  his  answer, '  I  take  for  a  high  im- 
position: however,  I  am  willing  that  they  all  lie  in 
common  and  free  until  otherwise  disposed  of,  and 
shall  grant  the  same  from  time  to  time  in  reasonable 
portions,  and  upon  reasonable  terms,  especially  to 
such  as  shall  engage  to  drain  and  improve  the  same, 
having  always  a  regard  to  back  inhabitants  for  their 
accommodation.'  " 

There  were  other  articles  in  the  Address,  parti- 
cularly the  eighth  and  ninth  relative  to  land  conti- 
guous to  Philadelphia,  which  very  much  hurt  his 
feelings  on  perusing  them.  It  struck  him,  as  if  it 
might  be  implied  from  these,  that  he  had  not  per- 
formed some  of  the  promises  he  had  made  them  ; 
and  he  thought  at  the  same  time,  that  he  saw  in 
themselves  an  unbecoming  rapacity  to  exact  from 
him  all  they  could,  before  he  left  them.  To  these 
therefore  he  gave  much  such  answers  as  before  ;  but 
besides  this,  at  a  conference  he  held  with  them  in 
the  Council-chamber,  he  signified  to  them  ^'  that  in 
his  speech  on  the  opening  of  the  Session  he  had  re- 
commended to  them  to  consider  their  privileges  as 
well  as  property,  in  which  he  had  justly  given  pri- 
mleges  the  precedency  of  property^  as  the  bulwark  to 
secure  the  other :  but  they  in  their  present  Address 
insisted  not  only  on  property  alone,  but  upon  such 
particulars  as  could  by  no  means  be  cognizable  by  an 
Assembly^  and  lay  only  between  him  and  the  particu- 


204  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

lars  concerned;  in  which  he  had  done,  and  always 
would  do,  to  the  utmost,  what  became  an  honest 

man  to  all  those  he  agreed  with but  he  would 

never  suffer  an  Assembly  to  intermeddle  with  his 
property^  lest  it  should  be  drawn  into  a  precedent, 
if  it  should  please  God  a  Governor  should  preside 
here,  distinct  from  the  Proprietary.'' 

Such  then  was  the  feeling  of  William  Penn  upon 
this  Address.  It  may  be  observed,  however,  as  a 
partial  justification  of  the  Assembly,  that  there  were 
some  things  yet  undone,  which  should  have  been, 
and  would  have  been,  done  years  ago,  had  he  not 
been  absent  from  them.  It  is  obvious  too,  that  they 
were  alarmed  lest  the  Government  should  be  put 
into  new  hands.  It  was  time  therefore  that  they 
should  look  to  their  own  interests ;  and  that  they 
should  obtain  the  full  performance  of  all  that  had 
been  promised  to  them.  They  were  aware  too,  that 
it  would  be  more  easy  for  them  to  obtain  from  Wil- 
liam Penn  any  additional  privileges  or  grants,  than 
from  the  Government  at  home,  provided  he  was 
obliged  to  sell  his  authority  and  power.  And  here 
it  was  that  the  Assembly  wounded  his  feelings  ; 
for,  by  going  too  far,  they  furnished  the  appearance 
of  rapacity  in  themselves,  as  well  as  of  claiui  with- 
out a  right ;  and  this  error  produced  a  shyness  in 
some  degree  between  them,"  which  was  discernible 
in  the  proceedings  of  the  Session.  It  is  much  how- 
ever to  the  honour  of  William  Penn,  that  he  did  not 
allc'A''  his  feelings  to  operate  eventuallv  to  th  •  pre- 
judice.    Satisfied  wilh  having  expressed  his  disap- 


•        OF  WILLIAM    PJ2NN.  205 

probation  of  their  conduct,  he  resumed  his  wonted 
benevolence,  and  therefore  relaxed  and  modified, 
even  in  the  offensive  articles,  so  as  to  settle  matters 
ultimately  to  the  general  satisfaction. 

On  the  seventh  of  October,  while  the  Assembly 
were  sitting,  several  tribes  of  Indians  came  down  to 
Philadelphia.  The  report  that  William  Penn  was 
going  to  England  had  reached  their  country,  and 
they  came  to  take  leave  of  him,  as  of  their  great  be- 
nefactor. He  received  them  in  Council,  The  in- 
terview is  said  to  have  been  very  interesting.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  but  few  particulars  have  come 
down  to  us.  We  have  only  the  following  short  ac- 
count : 

"  William  Penn  told  them,  that  the  Assembly 
was  then  enacting  a  law,  according  to  their  (the  In- 
dians') desire,  to  prevent  their  being  abused  by  the 
selling  of  rum  among  them  j  and  that  he  requested 
them  (the  Indians)  to  unite  all  their  endeavours 
and  their  utmost  exertion,  in  conjunction  with  those 
of  the  Government,  to  put  the  said  law  in  execu- 
tion." 

At  the  same  time  he  informed  them,  "  that  now 
this  was  like  to  be  his  last  interview  with  them,  at 
least  before  his  return- — !-that  he  had  always  loved 
and  been  kind  to  them,  and  ever  should  continue  so 
to  be,  not  through  any  politic  design,  or  on  account 

of  self-interest,  but  from  a  most  real  affection 

and  he  desired  them  in  his  absence  to  cultivate 
friendship  with  those,  whom  he  should  leave  behind 
in  authority;  as  they  would  always  in  some  degree 

VOL.  II.  T 


206  MEMOIRS    or    THE    LIFE 

continue  to  be  so  to  them,  as  himself  had  ever  been. 

Lastly,  that  he  had  charged  the  Members  of 

Council,  and  he  then  also  renewed  the  same  charge, 
that  they  should  in  all  respects  be  kind  to  them,  and 
entertain  them  with  all  courtesy  and  demonstrations 
of  good  will,  as  himself  had  ever  done."  Here  the 
members  promised  faithfully  to  observe  the  charge. 
Presents  were  then  made  to  the  Indians,  who  soon 
afterwards  withdrew. 

While  the  Assembly  were  proceeding  in  the  bu- 
siness of  the  day,  disagreements  broke  out  again  be- 
tween the  members  of  the  Territories  and  those  of 
the  Province.  The  question  being  put,  "  whether 
the  Bill  for  the  confirmation  of  laws  should  pass  into 
a  law  with  such  amendments  as  might  be  thought 
needful  ?"  most  of  the  Territory  members  rose  up 
and  left  the  House,  declaring  their  intention  of  re- 
turning home.  '^  It  appears,  that  they  had  been  de- 
sirous of  obtaining  some  exclusive  rights  for  their 
Constituents ;  and  that,  unable  to  carry  their  point, 
they  had  taken  this  sudden  step.  In  this  unpleasant 
situation,  William  Penn  judged  it  right  to  request  a 
conference  with  them.  This  took  place  in  the  Coun- 
cil-chamber, where  he  received  them  apart  from  the 
rest  of  the  Assembly.  During  its  continuance  he 
heard  all  their  complaints  and  weighed  their  objec- 
tions ;  but  he  found  these,  after  a  patient  investiga- 
tion, so  groundless,  that  he  could  not  help  telling 
the  iT,  that  '*  he  took  this  their  conduct  very  unkind 
even  to  himself  in  particular."  They  replied,  that 
they  had  a  great  regard  and  even  affection  for  him. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  207 

They  had  not  the  most  distant  intention  of  offend- 
ing him ;  but  it  became  them  to  be  true  to  those 
whom  they  represented. 

The  conference  having  thus  proved  ineffectual,  he 
called  the  Council  together,  and  sent  for  the  whole 
Assembly,  resolving  to  make  another  effort  for 
peace.  It  appears  that  all  the  members  attended 
him,  as  well  the  seceders  as  those  for  the  Province. 
He  then  told  them,  '*  that  his  time  being  short,  he 
must  come  briefly  to  the  point ;  that  it  w^as  no  small 
wound  to  him  to  think,  that  at  the  earnest  desire  of 
the  Territories  as  well  as  the  good  will  of  the  Pro- 
vince, he  had  engaged  in  an  undertaking,  which  cost 
him  between  two  and  three  thousand  pounds,  to 
unite  them  ;  and  yet  that  they  should  now  endan- 
ger that  union,  and  divide,  after  they  had  been  re- 
cognised as  one,  not  only  by  the  King's  Commission 
to  Governor  Fletcher,  but  also  by  the  King's  letters 
patent  for  his  own  restoration,  and  the  King's  seve- 
ral letters  to    the   Government. He    therefore 

would  not  have  any  thing  resolved  on,  but  what  was 
considerate  and  weighty,  lest  it  should  look  as  un- 
kind, and  now,  at  his  departure,  make  him  carry  a 
very  ill  report  of  them  to  England."  The  Territory 
Aiembers  said  in  reply  to  this,  *'  that  they  were 
great  sufferers  by  the  Act  of  Union,  however  it  was 
at  first  intended,  and  that  they  could  not  support 
the  burthen  of  the  charge."  The  Governor  replied, 
"  they  were  free  to  break  off,  and  might  act  dis- 
tinctly by  themselves."  At  this  they  seemed  pleas- 
ed, and  indeed  expressed  their  satisfaction  :  "  But 


208  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

then,''  continued  he,  ^^  it  must  be  upon  amicable 
terms  and  a  good  understanding." He  then  im- 
pressed it  upon  them,  "  that  they  must  first  resolve 
to  settle  the  Laws  ;  and  that,  as  the  interest  of  the 
Province  and  that  of  the  Territories  would  be  the 
same,  they  should  both  use  a  conduct  consistent 
with  that  relation." 

On  the  fifteenth  of  October  the  seceding  mem- 
bers returned  to  the  Assembly,  but  still  remained 
dissatisfied.  They  declared  to  the  House,  ''  they 
were  willing  to  join  with  the  rest  of  the  members, 
provided  they  might  have  liberty  to  enter  their  dis- 
sent to  the  Bill  for  the  confirmation  of  Laws,  and 
that  nothing  might  be  carried  over  their  heads  by 
over-voting  them;"  and  declared  further,  "they 
were  willing  to  do  any  thing  for  the  good  and  tran- 
quillity of  the  Government."  After  this  they  with- 
drew. Being  called  into  the  House  again,  they 
were  told  "  they  should  have  liberty  to  enter  their 
dissent,  provided  they  kept  to  the  matter ;  but  as 
for  the  House  to  promise  not  to  over-vote  them,  it 
was  a  thing  so  impracticable,  and  such  an  infringe- 
ment of  the  privileges  of  Assemblies,  that  they 
could  not  yield  to  that."  In  this  situation  both  par- 
ties continued,  when  the  Governor  directed  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  the  Speaker,  with  a  request  that  it 
might  be  communicated  to  the  whole  House: 
"  FarENDs, 

"  Your  union  is  what  I  desire,  but  your  peace  and 
accommodating  one  another  is  what  I  must  expect 
from  you.     The  reputation  of  it  is  something  j  the 


6F    WILLIAM    PENN.  209 

reality'is  much  more.  And  I  desire  you  to  remem- 
ber and  observe  what  I  say :  Yield  in  circumstan- 
t'lals  to  preserve  essentials ;  and,  being  safe  in  one 
another,  you  will  always  be  so  in  esteem  with  me. 
Make  me  not  sad  when  I  am  going  to  leave  you, 
since  it  is  for  you,  as  well  as  for 

"  Your  Friend  and  Governor, 

"  William  Penn." 

This  letter  had  the  effect  of  producing  a  recon- 
ciliation between  the  parties  concerned;  and  the 
Governor  promising  further,  that  he  would  make  a 
provision  in  the  Charter  for  a  conditional  separa- 
tion from  each  other,  if  they  chose  it,  within  the 
space  of  three  years,  they  continued  to  act  in  har- 
mony for  the  remainder  of  the  Session. 

By  this  time  the  Assembly  had  finished  the 
greater  part  of  the  business  which  had  been  submit- 
ted ^o  their  consideration,  particularly  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Laws.  The  following  is  a  list  of  those 
which  they  had  finally  passed,  and  in  the  order  in 
which  they  were  severally  confirmed:  An  Act  for 
Liberty  of  Conscience — against  Riots  and  Rioters — 
Adultery  and  Fornication — Rape — Incest  and  Bes- 
tiality— Bigamy — Robbing  and  Stealing — taking 
away  Canoes  and  Boats — breaking  into  Houses — 
firing  of  Houses — forcible  Entry — Menacing,  As- 
sault, and  Battery — Murder — Sedition,  the  spread- 
ing false  News,  and  Defamation — removing  Land- 
marks— defacing  Charters — for  County  Seals,  and 
against  counterfeiting  Hands  and  Seals — for  re- 
gulating the  Interest  of  Money — for  Privileges 
1'  2 


210  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

of  a  Freeman — against  buying  Land  of  the 
Natives — for  punishing  petty  Offences — for  the 
Names  of  the  Days  and  Months  of  the  Year — for 
the  better  Provision  of  the  Poor  withm  the  Province 
•and  Territories — for  recording  of  Deeds — ior  pre- 
venting clandestine  Marriages — for  binding  to  the 
Peace — for  limiting  Presentments  of  the  Grand 
Jury — for  ascertaining  the  Number  of  Members  of 
Assembly,  and  regulating  Elections — about  Attach- 
ments— for  Naturalization— for  ascertaining  the 
Descent  of  Lands  and  the  better  Disposition  of  the 
Estates  of  Persons  intestate — for  raising  County 
Levies — for  Directing  the  Attests  of  sundry  Offi- 
cers and  Ministers,  with  Amendments  about  At- 
torneys' Fees — for  the  better  Attendance  of  the 
Justices  within  the  Province  and  Territories — 
against  Jurors  absenting,  when  lawfully  summoned 
— on  determining  Debts  under  Forty  Shillings—to 
prevent  immoderate  Fines — about  Defalcation— 
against  speaking  in  Derogation  of  Courts — for  the 
appraisement  of  Goods — against  Barrators — to  ob- 
lige Witnesses  to  give  Evidence,  and  to  prevent 
False-swearing — for  the  Confirmation  of  Devises 
of  Lands  and  Validity  of  nuncupative  Wills — to 
prevent  the  grievous  Sins  of  Cursing  and  Swearing 
— to  prevent  Duelling — to  empower  Widows  and 
Administrators  to  sell  so  much  of  the  Lands  of  In- 
testates as  may  be  sufficient  to  clear  their  Debts — ■- 
for  the  Preservation  of  the  Person  of  the  Proprie- 
tary and  Governor — for  taking  Lands  in  Execution 
where  the  Sheriffs  cannot  come  at  other  Effects  to 
satisfy  the  same — for  the  better  regulating  of  Ser- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  211 

vants — for  erecting  and  establishing  a  Post-office— 
f (  r  the  Assize  of  Bread — for  Priority  of  Payments 
to  the  Inhabitants  of  this  Government — lor  regulat- 
ing of  Streets  and  Water-courses  in  the  Cities  and 
Towns — to  prevent  Accidents  which  may  happen 
by  Fire  in  the  Towns  of  Bristol,  Philadelphia,  Ger- 
miintown,  Derby,  Chester^  Newcastle,  and  Lewis, 
with  the  words  ^*  Hooks  provided'' — to  empower 
Justices  to  lay  out  and  confirm  all  Roads,  except 
the  King's  Highways — for  regulating  and  main- 
taining Fences — for  erecting-  Bridges  and  main- 
taining Highways — against  Weirs  across  Creeks 
and  Rivers — against  unseasonable  Firing  of  Woods 
— for  erecting  and  regulating  the  Prices  of  Ferries 
—for  the  Trial  of  Negroes — to  prevent  sickly  Ves- 
sels coming  into  this  Government— -for  the  Sittings 
of  Orphans'  Courts — for  requiring  all  Masters  of 
Ve^^sels  to  make  report  at  the  Town  of  Newcastle — 
for  levying  of  Fines — about  Departures  out  of  the 
Province — against  mixing  and  adulterating  strong- 
Liquors — against     Scolding about     killing     of 

Wolves — concerning  Bills  of  Exchange — for  regu- 
lating Money  Weights  and  for  Stamping  the  same 
—for  appointing  the  Rate  of  Money  or  Coin,  and 
for  preventing  the  Clipping  of  the  same — for  regu- 
lating Weights  and  Measures — to  prevent  the  Sale 
of  ill-tanned  Leather,  and  working  the  same  into 
Shoes  and  Boots — for  keeping  a  Register  in  religi- 
ous Societies — for  viewing  of  Pipe  Staves — against 
keeping  Inns  or  Public-houses  without  Licence— 
for  the  Dimensions  of  Casks,  and  true  Packing  of 


212  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Meat — about  cutting  Timber  Trees— against 
Drunkenness  and  drinking  Healths — for  bailing 
Prisoners  and  about  Imprisonment— against  Pirates 
and  Sea  Robbers — for  granting  an  Impost  on  Wine, 
Rum,  and  Beer — for  raising  One  Penny  per  Pound 
and  Six  Shillings  per  Head  for  the  Support  of  Go- 
vernment— for  raising  and  granting  to  the  Proprie- 
tary  and  Governor  the  Sum  of  Two  Thousand 
Pounds  upon  the  clear  Value  of  all  real  and  personal 
Estates,  and  upon  the  Polls  of  all  Freemen  within 
the  Province  and  Territories — for  effectually  esta- 
blishing and  confirming  the  Freeholders  of  the  same, 
their  Heirs  and  Assigns,  in  their  Lands  and  Tene- 
ments— for  erectuig  a  Bridge  at  Chester — for 
Country  Produce  to  be   curriiiit  Payment — against 

selling  Rum  to  the  Indians. Alter  these  some 

other  Laws  were  passed  b\  the  Assembly,  making 
up,  with  those  whose  titles  have  been  recited,  the 
number  of  one  hundred. 

With  respect  to  the  new  Charter  or  Frame  of 
Government,  upon  which  so  much  attention  had 
been  bestowed  by  a  Committee  of  the  Assembly,  it 
was  produced,  read,  and  approved.  It  agreed  with 
that  of  1696  in  the  following  particulars:  Each 
County  was  to  send  four  Members  to  the  Assem- 
bly, but  this  number  might  be  enlarged  afterwards 
as  circumstances  might  require. — The  Assv  mbly 
also  were  allowed  to  propose  Bills,  to  appoint  Com- 
mittees, and  to  sit  upon  their  own  Adjournments. 
Among  the  new  articles  it  contained  I  may  notice, 
first,  That  if  persons  through  temptation  or  melan- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  21S 

choly  should  destroy  themselves,  their  estates  were 
not  to  be  forfeited,  but  to  descend  to  their  wives 
and  children  and  relations,  as  if  they  had  died  a 
natural  death;  and,  secondly.  That  in  case  the  Re- 
presentatives of  the  Province  and  those  of  the  Ter- 
ritories should  not  hereafter  agree  to  join  together 
in  Legislation,  they  were  allowed,  by  proper  signi- 
fication of  the  same,  to  separate  v/ithin  three  years 
from  the  date  of  the  Charter;  but  they  were  to  enjoy 
the  same  privileges  when  separated  as  when  con- 
nected. 

The  Assembly  having  finished  the  business  be- 
fore them,  William  Penn  on  the  twenty-eighth  of 
October  signed  the  above  Charter  in  the  Council- 
chamber  in  the  midst  of  the  Council  and  Assembly, 
both  of  whom  united  in  returning  him  thanks,  as 
appears  by  the  following  document: 

"  This  Charter  of  Privileges  having  been  dis- 
tinctly read  in  Assembly,  and  the  whole  and  every 
part  thereof  having  been  approved  and  agreed  to  by 
us,  we  do  thankfully  receive  the  same  from  our  Pro- 
prietary and  Governor,  this  twenty-eighth  day  of 
October,  iroi." 

Signed  by  Edward  Shippen^  Thomas  Story,  and 
others  of  the  Governor's  Council ; 

And  by  Joseph  Growdon,  on  behalf  and  by  order 
of  the  Assembly. 

On  the  same  day  he  appointed  by  Letters  Patent 
under  the  Great  Seal  a  Council  of  State,  consisting 
of  Edward  Shippen,  Thomas  Story,  and  eight  other 
persons,  for  the  Government  of  the  Province  and 


214  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Territories,  to  assist  him  or  his  Lit  uttnant  with  theiir 
advice  in  public  affairs  ;  and  to  exercise,  in  his  own 
absence  or  in  case  of  the  death  or  incapacity  of  his 
Lieutenant,  the  powers  of  Government  for  the  same. 

On  the  twenty-ninth,  the  ship  which  was  to  carry 
him  to  England  being  ready  to  sail,  he  convened 
the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia,  in  order  to  leave 
with  them  a  particular  memorial  of  his  good-will 
towards  them.  He  presented  them  with  a  Charter 
of  Privileges,  by  which  Philadelphia  was  constituted 
a  City,  and  incorporated.  The  Corporation  was  to 
consist  of  a  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Common  Coun- 
cil-men, a  Recorder,  Sheriff,  Town  Clerk,  and 
other  Officers,  and  to  have  the  Title  of  The  JNlayor 
and  Commonalty  of  Philadelphia.  This  Charter 
he  had  prepared  and  signed  on  the  twenty-fifth,  and 
he  had  taken  care  to  appoint  all  those  whom  he 
most  approved  of  to  the  different  stations  belonging 
to  it.  Thus  he  appointed  Edward  Shippen  the  first 
Mayor,  and  Thomas  Story  the  first  Recorder ;  all 
of  whom  he  saw  in  their  respective  offices  before  he 
departed. 

On  the  thirtieth  he  appointed  Andrew  Hamilton, 
who  had  been  some  time  Governor  both  of  East  and 
West  Jersey,  as  his  Deputy  Governor;  and  having 
put  him  into  his  place,  and  introduced  him  to  the 
Council,  he  embarked  the  next  day  w^ith  his  wife 
and  family,  after  having  staid  in  Pennsylvania  about 
two  years  ;  during  which,  according  to  the  account 
of  his  Life,  written  by  Besse,  prefixed  to  the  Col- 
lection of  his  Works,  "  he  had  apphed  himself  to 


OF   WILLIAM    VENN.  215 

the  offices  of  Government,  always  preferring  the 
good  of  the  Country  and  its  Inhabitants  to  his  own 
private  interest,  rather  remitting  than  rigorously  ex- 
acting his  lawful  revenues,  so  that  under  the  influ- 
ence of  his  paternal  administration  he  left  the  Pro- 
vinc  in  an  easy  and  flourishing  condition,"  It  ap- 
pears that  he  was  only  about  six  weeks  on  his  pas- 
sage, and  that  he  arrived  at  Portsmouth  about  the 
midxlle  of  December. 


216  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A.  1702-3 — carries  tip  the  Address  of  the  fakers 
to  ^leen  Anne — writes  '^  Considerations  upon 
the  Bill  against  occasional  Conformity^^ — also 
"  More  Fruits  of  Solitude'^'' — also  a  Preface  to 
"  Vindicice  Veritatis^'*-^a7id  another  to  *^  Zion^s 
Travellers  conforted'*'^ — affairs  of  Fcnnsylvama* 

The  facts  related  of  William  Penn  become  now 
so  very  scanty,  that  I  shall  be  obliged  from  this 
time  to  throw  two  or  three  years  of  his  life  into  one 
chapter. 

He  had  not  been  long  in  England  before  he 
found  that  the  Bill  which  was  to  turn  the  North 
American  into  Regal  Governments  had  been  en- 
tirely dropped,  so  that  he  had  crossed  the  Atlantic 
for  nothing.  It  was  however  a  consolation  to  him 
to  know,  that  the  evil  on  account  of  which  he  had 
come  to  England,  and  the  removal  of  which  was 
likely  to  have  cost  him  much  anxiety,  pain,  and 
trouble,  had  been  removed. 

Not  long  after  this.  King  William  died,  and 
Queen  Anne  succeeded  him.  William  Penn  was  in 
great  favour  with  this  princess,  and  occasionally  at- 
tended her  Court.  She  received  him  always  in  a 
friendlv  manner,  and  was  pleased  with  his  conver- 
sation on  American  concerns.  He  was  employed 
also  in  carrying  up  to  her  an  Address  from  the 


OF    WILLIAM    P£NN.  217 

Quakers,  to  thank  her  for  her  declaration  that  she 
would  maintain  the  Act  of  Toleration  in  favour  of 
Dissenters.  The  Queen  spoke  to  him  veiy  kindly 
on  this  occasion,  and,  having  read  the  Address, 
added,  ''Mr.  Penn !  I  am  so  well  pleased  that 
what  I  have  said  is  to  your  satisfaction,  that  you 
and  your  Friends  may  be  assured  of  my  protec- 
tion." 

At  this  time  he  and  his  family  were  in  lodgings 
at  Kensington.  Here  he  wrote  a  little  tract,  con- 
tained in  a  sheet  of  paper,  called  "  Considerations 
upon  the  Bill  against  occasional  Conformity," 
which  Bill  had  then  been  introduced  into  the 
House  of  Commons^ 

He  wrote  also  "  More  Fruits  of  Solitude." 
This  was  a  second  part  to  '^  Some  Fruits  of  Soli- 
tude, in  Reflections  and  Maxims  relating  to  the 
Conduct  of  human  Life,"  published  in  1683.  The 
reflections  and  maxims  in  both  parts  amounted  to 
eight  hundred  and  fifty. 

He  removed  from  Kensington  to  Knightsbridge 
the  next  year.  While  at  the  latter  place,  he  wrote 
two  interesting  prefaces  to  two  books.  The  first  of 
these  was  "  Vindiciae  Veritatis  ;  or.  An  occasional 
Defence  of  the  Principles  and  Practices  of  the 
People  called  Quakers ;  in  Answer  to  a  Treatise  by 
John  Stillingfleet,  a  Clergyman  in  Lincolnshire, 
miscalled  Seasonable  Advice  against  Quakerism." 
The  other  was  a  collection  of  Charles  Marshall's 
writings,  called  "  Zion's  Travellers  comforted." 

VOL.  II.  U 


218  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

With  respect  to  America,  he  received  no  intelli- 
gence from  thence  but  what  was  distressing.  It 
appears  that  Governor  Hamilton  had  summoned 
the  Assembly,  and  that  the  members  for  the  Terri- 
tories had  come  down  to  Philadelphia  in  conse- 
quence, and  had  met  him  in  the  Council-chamber  ; 
but  that  they  had  refused  to  meet  in  Assembly,  or 
to  act  in  legislation  with  those  for  the  Province. 
They  objected  to  the  last  Charter.  William  Penn, 
they  said,  had  signed  this  at  a  Board  of  Council, 
and  not  in  Assembly,  for  the  Assembly  had  been 
dissolved  the  day  before.  The  Charter  therefore 
was  not  binding  upon  them,  for  they  were  then  no 
House.  Besides,  the  members  for  the  Province 
had  been  elected  by  writs,  which  were  conformable 
In  point  of  time  with  the  said  Charter ;  but  they 
themselves  had  been  elected  not  till  some  time 
after.  They  could  not  therefore  sit  in  Assembly 
with  the  former;  for  by  so  doing  they  would  ac- 
knowledge the  said  Charter,  the  writs  upon  which 
the  said  members  were  elected  being  grounded 
upon  it. 

The  Governor  made  a  reply  to  them  ;  but  his 
arguments,  forcible  as  they  w^ere,  did  not  avaih 
In  the  course  however  of  five  or  six  weeks  he  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  them  and  the  members  for  the 
Province  together,  but  it  was  in  the  Council-cham- 
ber only :  and  here  the  communication  which  he 
had  to  make  to  them  was  not  likely  to  conciliate 
either  of  them  ;  for  he  revived  the  old  subject  of 
fear  of  invasion,  and  proposed  at  the  instigation  of 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  219 

Lord  Cornbury,  then  Governor  of  New  York,  a 
junction  with  his  province  to  fortify  the  frontier  of 
Albany,  and  recommended  also  the  raising  of  a 
militia  among  them.  The  result  was,  that  both 
parties  with  one  accord  declined  acting  together  in 
their  legislative  capacity.  "  They  humbly  craved 
leave  to  inform  the  Governor,  that  they  could  find 
no  method  to  form  themselves  into  an  Assembly, 
the  same  stops  and  objections  lying  in  the  way  as 
before." 

Twice  after  this  the  Governor  brought  them 
together,  but  with  no  better  success  ;  when  he  dis- 
missed them,  hoping  that  by  sending  an  account  of 
their  proceedings  to  England  some  expedient  might 
be  devised  by  William  Penn,  which  might  lead  to 
their  union.  This  however  was  but  a  vain  hope  ; 
for  when  they  parted  on  their  dismissal  they  parted 
for  ever  in  legislation,  the  Territory  members 
determining  to  hold  a  separate  Assembly  within 
their  own  borders. 

The  members  for  the  Province,  being  now  left  to 
themselves,  addressed  the  Governor,  requesting 
that,  according  to  the  Charter,  by  which  a  provision 
had  been  made,  in  case  of  the  separation  which  had 
taken  place,  they  might  hold  an  Assembly  by  the 
addition  of  four  members  for  each  county  and  two 
for  Philadelphia,  which  was  now  incorporated. 
This  the  Governor  signified  his  intention  to  comply 
with:  but  in  the  interim  he  died. 

On  the  death  of  Governor  Hamilton,  the  Go- 
vernment of  the  Province  and  Territories  devolved 


220  MEMOIRS    OP  THE    LITE 

upon  Edward  Shippen,  who  was  President  of  the 
Council.  He  summoned  the  Assembly  for  the 
Province  in  October.  They  met  accordingly,  and 
performed  the  business  of  the  Session :  immedi- 
ately after  which  a  dispute  arose  between  them  and 
the  Governor  and  Council ;  for,  when  the  latter 
proposed  to  confer  with  the  Assembly  about  a 
proper  time  to  meet  again,  the  Assembly  assumed 
the  power  of  adjourning  wholly  to  themselves  5  and 
when  an  objection  was  made  to  this  extent  of  their 
claim  of  sitting  wholly  upon  their  own  adjourn- 
ments, they  immediately  adjourned  themselves  to 
the  first  of  May  next,  without  giving  Governor  or 
Council  any  further  time  to  confer  with  them  on 
the  subject. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  221 


CHAPTER  XVL 

A.  ir04-5-6-7-8 — zurites  a  Preface  to  "  The  writ- 
ten Gospel-Labours  of  John  Whitehead^'' — travels 
as  a  minister  into  the  West  of  England — writes  a 
General  Letter  to  the  Society — is  involved  in  a 
laxV'Suit  with  the  Executors  of  his  Steward — 
obtains  no  redress  in  Chancery — obliged  in  conse- 
quence to  live  xvithin  the  Rules  of  the  Fleet-^ 
affairs  of  Pennsylvania.. 

In  the  year  1  r04  we  know  very  little  of  William 
Penn,  only  that  he  continued  to  reside  at  Knights- 
bridge,  and  thaty  while  there,  he  wrote  a  Preface  to 
"  The  written  Gospel-Labours  of  John  White- 
head." 

In  ir05  he  travelled  as  a  minister  to  the  western 
parts  of  the  kingdom.  It  is  said  that  during  his 
journey  ^'  he  had  good  service,  and  that  his  testi- 
mony was  effectual  to  the  reformation  of  many." 
Soon  after  this  he  wrote  the  following  short  letter, 
v/hich  he  addressed  lo  the  Quakers  generally  : 
"  Hold  all  your  meetings  in  that  which  set  them  up, 
the  heavenly  power  of  God,  both  ministers  and 
hearers,  and  live  under  it  and  not  above  it,  and  the 
Lord  will  give  you  dominion  over  that  which  seeks 
tx)  draw  you  again  into  captivity  to  the  spirit  of  this 
world  under  divers  appearances,  that  the  Truth 
may  shine  through  you  in  righteousness  and  holi» 
U  2 


22%  MEMOIRS   OF   THE   I.IFE 

Bess,  in  self-denial,  long-suffering,  patience,  and 
brotherly  kindness  :  so  shall  you  approve  your- 
selves the  redeemed  of  the  Lord,  and  his  living 
witnesses  in  and  to  an  evil  generation.  So  prays 
your  Friend  and  Brother  through  the  many  tribula- 
tions that  lead  to  the  kingdom  of  God. 

In  1706  he  removed  with  his  family  to  a  house 
near  Brentford,  where  he  continued  for  some  time. 

In  1 707  he  was  unhappily  involved  in  a  law-suit 
with  the  executors  of  one  Ford,  who  had  been 
formerly  his  steward.  He  considered  the  demands 
of  these  to  be  so  unreasonable,  as  to  feel  himself 
bound  by  justice  to  resist  them. 

In  the  course  of  1708  his  cause  was- determined  : 
but  "  though  many  thought  him  aggrieved,  it  was 
attended,  it  is  said,  by  such  circumstances,  that  the 
Court  of  Chancery  did  not  think  it  proper  to  relieve 
him."  This  issue  must  have  been  very  distressing 
to  him,  not  only  because  it  was  entirely  unexpected, 
but  because  a  man  of  his  delicate  feelings  must  have 
supposed  that  his  character  would  suffer  in  conse- 
quence of  it.  But,  besides,  he  was  under  the  pain- 
ful necessity  of  dwelling  within  the  Rules  of  the 
Fieei/*  till  such  time  as  the  pecuniary  part  of  the 
matter  could  be  settled. 

As  to  his  American  affairs,  it  appears  that  he  had 
appointed  John  Evans  Deputy  Governor,  with  the 

*  It  is  probable  that  from  this  cireumstance  Edmund  Burke,  in 
.is  *'  Account  of  the  European  Settlements  in  America,*'  derived 
b.e  mistaken  notion  that  William  Penn  died  in  the  Fleet  prispTi. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  223 

Queen's  approbation,  on  the  death  of  Andrew 
Hamilton.  It  was  the  first  effort  of  Evans  to  try  to 
make  up  the  differences  between  the  members  for 
the  Territories  and  those  for  ihe  Province.  He 
succeeded  in  bringing  them  once  more  together, 
and  the  speech  he  made  to  them  was  such  as  to  dis- 
pose the  members  for  the  Territories  towards  a  re- 
union; but  those  for  the  Province,  who  had  so 
long  witnessed  the  refractory  behaviour  of  the 
latter,  refused  all  further  connection  with  them. 
The  consequence  was,  that  they  parted  finally. 

Having  thus  failed  in  his  attempt  at  negotiation, 
he  convened  the  Assembly  of  the  Province,  with 
which  he  transacted  the  public  business  as  a  distinct 
body,  and  after  this  the  Assembly  of  the  Territo- 
ries, which  he  met  at  Newcastle,  distinct  in  like 
manner,  for  the  management  of  the  Territory  con- 
cerns. 

By  this  time  he  had  become  unpopular  with  the 
members  for  the  Province.  He  had  refused  to  pass 
three  Bills,  relating  to  the  Charter  and  to  Property, 
without  certain  Amendments  ;  and  he  had  publish- 
ed a  Proclamation  to  raise  a  militia  among  those 
whose  religious  scruples  did  not  hinder  them  from 
bearing  arms.  This  unpopularity  became  at  length 
so  great,  that  they  drew  up  a  private  Remonstrance 
against  him,  and  sent  it  to  England  to  William 
Penn  ;  in  which,  it  is  said,  they  reflected  upon 
William  Penn  himself,  and  also  upon  James  Logan, 
who  was  the  public  Secretary  to  the  Government. 


224  MEMOIRS    OP   THE    LIFE 

Early  in  1705  Governor  Evans  convened  the 
same  Assembly.  In  his  address  to  them  he  stated 
how  much  the  Proprietary  had  been  grieved  with 
the  Remonstrance  he  had  received.  "  Gentlemen,'' 
says  he,  "  the  Proprietary  is  so  far  from  agreeing 
with  your  opinion  in  these  matters,  that  he  is  great- 
ly surprised  to  see,  instead  of  suitable  supplies  for 
the  maintenance  of  Government,  and  defraying  pub^ 
lic  charges  for  the  public  safety,  time  only  lost 
(while  his  constant  expenses  run  on)  in  disputes 
upon  heads  which  he  had  as  fully  settled  before  his 
departure  as  the  best  precautions  could  enable  him. 

*^  The  Proprietary  also  further  assures  us,  that 
had  the  three  Bills  been  passed  into  Acts  here  with- 
out the  Amendments,  tliey  would  certainly  have 
been  vacated  by  Her  Majesty,  being  looked  on  by 
men  of  skill,  to  whom  they  were  shown,  as  great  ab« 
,  surdities. 

"  If  the  Remonstrance  was  the  act  of  the  people 
truly  represented,  then  it  was  the  Proprietary's  opi- 
nion, that  such  a  proceeding  was  sufficient  to  cancel 
all  obligations  of  care  over  them ;  but  if  done  by  par- 
ticular persons  only,  and  it  was  animposture  in  the 
name  of  the  whole,  he  expected  the  Country  would 
purge  themselves,  and  take  care  that  due  satisfac- 
tion was  given  him." 

He  added,  "  that  the  Proprietary  {who^  it  was 
xvell  known^  had  hitherto  supported  this  Goveryi- 
fnent)  had  been  frequently  solicited,  upon  the  treat- 
ment he  had  met  with,  to  resign  and  throw  up  all 
without  anv  further  care  ;    but  his  tenderness  to 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  225 

those  in  the  place,  whom  he  knew  to  be  still  true 
and  honest,  prevailed  with  him  to  give  the  people 
yet  an  opportunity  of  showing  what  they  would  do 
before  all  was  brought  to  a  closing  period  ;  but  that 
he  would  be  justified  by  all  reasonable  men  for 
withdrawing  the  exercise  of  his  care  over  those  who, 
being  so  often  invited  to  it,  took  so  little  of  them- 
selves." 

Soon  after  this.  Governor  Evans,  not  being  able 
to  make  an  impression  upon  the  Assembly,  dissolv- 
ed it,  and  at  the  time  fixed  by  Charter  he  called  a 
new  one.  During  the  sittings  of  the  latter  there 
was  a  better  understanding  on  both  sides,  and  seve- 
ral Laws  were  passed :  but  before  the  end  of  the 
year  he  became  obnoxious  to  several  of  the  most 
respectable  of  its  members  ;  for  he  had  joined  with 
the  Assembly  for  the  Territories  in  some  acts 
which  seemed  to  have  been  rather  levelled  against 
the  interest  of  the  Province  than  to  answer  any 
good  end.  He  had  treated,  too,  the  religious  scru- 
ples of  the  Quakers  agamst  war  as  groundless  and 
absurd  ;  and  he  had  exhibited,  as  a  man,  a  looseness 
and  levity  of  character  which  was  disgusting  to  a 
serious-minded  people. 

In  the  year  1706  Governor  Evans  completed  his 
unpopularity  by  two  extraordinary  acts.  In  order 
to  succeed  in  his  project  of  a  militia  he  created  a 
false  alarm.  It  was  contrived  that  a  messenger 
should  be  sent  to  him  from  Newcastle  to  Philadel- 
phia, at  the  time  of  the  Fair,  to  inform  him  that  a 
number  of  vessels  were  then  actually  in  the  river  for 


226  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

the  purpose  of  invasion.  Upon  this  news  Evans 
acted  his  part.  He  sent  his  emissaries  to  spread 
consternation  through  the  city,  while  he  himself 
with  a  drawn  sword  rode  through  the  streets  in  ap- 
parently great  agitation  of  mind,  and  entreated  and 
commanded  by  turns  persons  of  all  ranks  to  assist 
him  in  this  emergency.  The  plot,  having  been 
thus  executed,  operated  differently  upon  different 
people.  Some  fled ;  others  buried  their  property  ; 
and  others  took  up  arms.  Among  the  latter  were 
only  four  Quakers.  Soon  after  this  the  imposition 
was  discovered  ;  and  the  consequence  was,  that  he 
lost  the  good  opinion  of  the  Quakers  and  of  many 
others  from  that  day. 

The  other  transaction  was  as  follows  :  The  As- 
sembly for  the  Territories  had  passed  a  Law,  on 
the  suggestion  of  Evans,  for  the  building  of  a  Fort 
at  Newcastle  ;  and  they  had  enacted  also,  th^t  all 
vessels  coming  from  sea  up  the  Delaware  should 
pay  a  certain  tax  ;  and  that  all  masters  of  vessels, 
whether  going  up  or  down  the  River,  should  drop 
anchor  at  the  Fort,  and  report  their  vessels,  and  get 
leave  to  pass,  under  a  penalty  of  five  pounds  and  so 
much  for  every  shot  fired  at  them  in  case  of  neglect. 
This  law  made  him  unpopular  throughout  the  Pro- 
vince. The  people  there  considered  it  as  an  infrac- 
tion of  the  Royal  Charter,  which  gave  them  a  right 
to  the  free  use  of  the  River  and  Bay  without  ob- 
struction from  any  quarter  whatever;  and  they  were 
determined  to  resist  it.  Accordingly,  after  the  Fort 
had  been  built  and  the  exactions  paid  by  many,  thre^^ 


O^    WILLIAM    PENN,  227' 

Quakers,  Richard  Hill  who  was  one  of  the  Council, 
and  Isaac  Norris  and  Samuel  Preston,  men  of  the 
first  station  and  character,  went  on  board  a  sloop  be- 
longing to  Hill,  and  sailed  down  the  River,  and 
dropt  anchor  a  little  before  they  came  to  the  Fort. 
Norris  and  Preston  then  landed  to  inform  the  Offi- 
cers in  it,  that  the  vessel  had  been  regularly  cleared ; 
after  which  they  returned  to  her.  When  they  got 
on  board,  Hill  took  the  command  of  the  sloop,  stood 
to  the  helm,  and  passed  the  Fort,  and  this  without 
receiving  any  damage,  though  a  constant  firing  was 
kept  up,  and  though  the  guns  were  pointed  in  such 
a  direction  that  a  shot  went  through  the  mainsail. 
As  soon  as  the  sloop  was  clear  of  the  Fort,  John 
French,  the  commander  of  it,  put  ofl^  in  a  boat,  man- 
ned and  armed,  to  bring  her  to.  When  he  came 
alongside.  Hill  ordered  a  rope  to  be  thrown  to  him ; 
upon  which  he  fastened  the  boat,  and  then  went  on 
board.  Upon  this.  Hill  cut  the  rope,  and  the  boat 
falling  astern,  he  conducted  French  a  prisoner  to  the 
cabin,  and  sailed  away  with  him  to  Lord  Cornbury, 
who  happened  then  to  be  at  Salem,  a  little  lower 
down  on  the  Jersey  side  of  the  river.  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  having  reprimanded  French,  dismissed  him. 
Soon  after  this,  Hill,  accompanied  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelphia,  attended  the 
General  Assembly,  and  laid  a  Petition  before  them. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  Assembly  presented 
an  Address  to  the  Governor,  in  which  they  repro- 
bated the  Law  in  question  without  one  dissenting 


528  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIfE 

voice,  and  this  in  so  strong  a  manner  that  no  pro- 
ceedings of  the  like  nature  were  continued* 

These  transactions  together  made  such  a  rupture 
between  Evans  and  the  Assembly,  that  there  was 
nothing  but  jarring  between  them  afterwards;  so 
that  when  Evans  sent  to  the  Assembly  the  draught 
of  a  Bill,  which  he  supposed  necessary,  the  Assem- 
bly immediately  rejected  it  ;  and  when  the  Assem- 
bly proposed  another  in  its  stead,  Evans  rejected  it 
in  his  turn,  remarking  that  it  broke  in  upon  the  Pro- 
prietary's powers  of  Government,  and  his  just  inte- 
rests and  rights. 

This  opposition  of  the  Governor  to  the  Bill  of  the 
Assembly,  and  his  remarks  upon  it,  very  much  dis- 
pleased them  ;  and,  as  if  they  had  something  to  let 
out  by  way  of  revenge,  but  no  one  to  vent  it  upon, 
they  brought  against  James  Logan,  one  of  the  Coun- 
cil and  the  public  Secretary  of  the  Government,  a 
number  of  accusations,  which  they  styled  articles  of 
impeachment ;  but  here  they  were  foiled ;  for  through 
Evans's  management,  and  his  protection  of  Logan, 
they  were  not  able  to  effect  any  thing  against  the 
latter  either  by  way  of  censure  or  removal  from 
office. 

Having  been  now  twice  worsted,  they  drew  up  in 
1707  a  Remonstrance,  a  second  time,  against  Go- 
vernor Evans,  and  sent  it  to  Wiiliiim  Penn.  It  was 
a  sort  of  catalogue  of  the  particulars  of  his  mal-ad- 
ministration,  which  included  the  false  alarm,  the 
storv  of  the  sloop  and  the  Fort  as  before  mentioned, 
and  twelve  other  charges. 


b'B    WILLIAM   PENN.  229 

On  the  first  of  October,  the  day  of  election  accord- 
ing to  the  Charter,  the  choice  falling  upon  most  of 
the  old  members,  there  was  the  same  want  of  cordi- 
ality, or  rather  the  same  discord,  between  the  par- 
ties as  before  ;  so  that  very  little  was  done  in  thai 
session* 

In  the  beginning  of  1708,  William  Penn,  having 
received  the  second  remonstrance  of  the  Assembly 
against  Governor  Evans,  also  letters  from  the  latter 
in  his  ov/n  vindication,  as  v/ell  as  several  from  others, 
who  took  their  respective  sides  as  they  felt  them- 
selves influenced  by  facts  and  circumstances,  took 
the  case  into  his  most  serious  consideration,  with  a 
determination  to  do  justice  to  all  parties,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  consult  the  true  interest  and  welfare  of 
the  Province,  The  result  was,  that  he  found  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  recalling  Governor  Evans. 
Accordingly  a  letter  was  dispatched  to  him  to  this 
effect.  It  reached  him  in  due  time  at  Philadelphia, 
and  he  left  his  Deputy  Government  in  consequence 
in  the  same  vear. 


VOL.  lu  X 


i^oO  MKiMOlRS    Oil     THE    Llf £ 


CHAPTER  XVn. 


A.  1709-10-1 1-12 — is  obliged  to  mortgage  his  Pro- 
vince— causes  of  this  obligation — travels  again  in 
the  ministry — writes  a  Preface  to  the  "  Dis- 
courses  ofBulstrode  Whitelocke'*'^ — constitution  be- 
gins to  break — removes  to  Rushcomb  in  Berkshire 
•-^determines  upon  parting  with  his  Province — 
hut  is  prevented  by  illness — writes  a  Preface  to 
the  ^'  Works  of  John  Banks'*"* — has  three  apoplectic 
fits — affairs  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  ir09  William  Penn  submitted  to  a  painful  act 
for  the  sake  of  justice.  His  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ments were  such  as  to  oblige  him  to  mortgage  his 
Province  of  Pennsylvania  for  6,600/.  The  money 
was  advanced  him  by  his  friends,  but  principally  by 
those  who  were  of  his  own  religious  Society. 

One  of  the  most  remote  causes  of  his  embarrass- 
ment, indeed  the  great  and  continually  operating 
one,  was  the  expenditure  of  money  for  the  good  of 
the  Province,  without  those  pecuniary  returns  to 
which  he  was  entitled.  Oldmixon,  who  was  cotem- 
porary  with  him,  and  who  published  his  ^^  Account 
of  the  British  Empire  in  America"  only  the  preced- 
ing year,  speaks  on  the  subject  thus :  "  We  shall 
not  enter  into  any  enquiries  into  the  causes  of  the 
trouble  that  has  been  given  Mr.  Penn  lately  about 
the  Province  of  Pennsylvania  :  it  appears  to  us,  by 


OF    WILLIAM   PENN*  231 

what  we  have  heard  of  it  from  others,  for  from  him- 
self we  never  had  any  information  concerning  it, 
that  he  has  been  involved  in  it  by  his  bounty  to  the 
Indians,  his  generosity  in  minding  the  public  affairs 
of  the  Colonv  more  than  his  own  private  ones,  his 
humanity  to  those  who  have  not  made  suitable  re- 
turns, his  confidence  in  th(»se  who  have  betrayed 
him,  and  the  rigour  of  the  severest  equity,  a  word 
that  borders  the  nearest  to  injustice  of  any.  'Tis 
certainly  the  duty  of  this  Colony  to  maintain  the 
Proprietary,  who  has  laid  out  his  all  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  them,  in  the  possession  of  his  Territory  ; 
and  public  gratitude  ought  to  make  good  what  they 
reap  the  benefit  of.  This  is  all  said  out  of  justice 
to  the  merit  of  this  gentleman,  otherwise  it  would 
have  been  w^ithout  his  consent."  But  though  this 
was  the  first  and  great  cause  ;  yet  that  which  added 
to  it,  and  brought  on  the  present  distress,  was  the 
unexpected  demand  of  the  executors  of  his  steward 
Ford,  and  the  issue  of  the  suit  in  Chancery  as  be- 
fore mentioned.  It  apj^ears,  from  the  best  informa- 
tion I  have  been  able  to  collect  on  this  subject,  that 
William  Penn  had  behaved  to  Ford  during  his  life- 
time with  great  kindness  and  liberality  ;  and  that, 
not  suspecting  one  whom  he  had  both  so  eminently 
trusted  and  served,  he  had  incautiously  and  without 
due  inspection  put  his  hand  to  papers,  as  mere  mat- 
ters of  course,  v/hich  his  steward  had  laid  before 
him  to  sign.  Hence  the  law  could  give  him  no  re- 
lief. But  whatever  was  the  history  of  the  transac- 
tion, the  steward  lost  his  reputation  by  it.     James 


232  :me:moirs  of  the  life 

Logan,  who  was  Secretary  to  the  Government  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  who  knew  the  whole  of  the  case, 
and  who  had  occasion  to  allude  to  it  in  a  manuscript 
found  after  his  death,  stigmatizes  the  act  by  "  the 
fraud  and  treachery  of  his  steward,"  and  in  the 
same  language  it  was  generally  spoken  of  at  the 
time. 

Having  raised  the  money,  and  thereby  removed 
some  of  his  difficulties,  he  travelled  as  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  to  the  West  of  England,  and  visited  also 
in  the  same  capacity  the  counties  of  Berks,  Buck- 
ingham, and  Surry,  and  other  places.  He  wrote 
this  year  "  Some  Account  of  the  Life  and  Writings 
of  Bulstrode  Whitelocke,  Esq.  prefixed  to  his  Me- 
morials of  English  Affairs  to  the  Ead  of  the  Reigu 
of  King  James  the  First,  now  published  from  hi§ 
original  Manuscript."  William  Penn  had  for  many 
years  been  acquainted  with  this  great  and  venerable 
person. 

In  this  year  we  first  hear  of  the  failure  of  his  con- 
stitution. It  is  noticed  by  Besse,  the  author  of  the 
first  History  of  his  Life,  who  says  that  the  infirmi- 
ties of  old  age  began  to  visit  him,  and  to  lessen  his 
wonted  powers.  It  is  noticed  also  by  Oldmixon, 
in  his  second  edition  of  his  account  of  the  British 
Empire  in  America,  who  speaks  thus  :  *'  The  trou- 
bles that  befel  Mr.  Penn  in  the  latter  part  of  his 
life  are  of  a  nature  too  private  to  have  a  place  in  a 
public  history.  He  trusted  an  ungrateful,  unjust 
agent  too  much  with  the  management  of  it ;  and, 
when  he  expected  to  have  been  thousands  of  pounds 


Ot    WILLIAM    PLNN.  233 

the  better  for  it,  found  himself  thousands  of  pounds 
in  debt ;  insomuch  that  he  was  restrained  of  his 
liberty  within  the  privilege  of  the  Fleet,  by  a  tedi- 
ous and  unsuccessful  law-suit ;  which,  together  with 
age,  broke  his  spirits  not  easy  to  be  broken,  and  ren- 
dered him  incapable  of  business  and  society  as  he 
was  wont  to  have  been  in  the  days  of  his  health  and 
vigour  both  of  body  and  mind." 

This  intelligence  respecting  his  health,  though  It 
bursts  thus  suddenly  upon  us,  ought  not  to  surprise 
us.  It  is  not  wonderful,  that  symptoms  of  decline 
should  have  begun  to  show  themselves  in  his  consti* 
tution,  at  the  age  of  sixty-seven,  and  more  particu- 
larly when  we  consider  the  distressing  scenes  he 
experienced  in  this  and  the  preceding  year.  In  the 
former  year  he  had  to  contrast  his  own  unsuspicious 
and  generous  conduct  with  the  treachery  of  his 
steward.  He  had  to  lament  the  failure  of  his  suit 
in  Chancery,  both  as  it  embarrassed  his  pecuniary 
affairs,  and  as  it  might  injure  his  reputation.  He 
had  the  mortification  to  see  himself  a  prisoner 
v/idiin  the  limits  of  the  Fleet.  He  had  been  afRicted 
by  the  renewal  and  continuation  of  bitter  dissen- 
tions  between  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  and 
his  Deputy  Governor.  He  had  been  under  the 
painful  task  of  removing  the  latter  ;  and  in  the  })re- 
sent  year  he  had  been  compelled  to  mortgage-  his 
Province.  These  were  Causes  which  could  not  but 
have  affected  him.  Religion  and  philosophy  have 
undoubtedly  the  power  of  blunting  the  *-dix'  <;f  our 
afflictions,  and  of  making  them  more  bearable ;  but 
X2 


234  MEMOIRS    OF    THE   LIFE 

they  cannot  alter  the  law  of  our  mortality,  or  secure 
us  from  that  decay  to  which  we  are  liable  from  our 
nature. 

For  1710  we  have  but  a  slender  account  of  his 
proceedings.  We  trace  him  once  at  the  Prime 
Minister's,  Robert  Harley,  afterward  Earl  of  Ox- 
ford, with  whom  he  was  very  intimate,  and  at  whose 
house  he  then  dined:  but  the  a^.r  near  London  not  suit- 
ing his  declining  constitution,  he  took  a  handsome 
seat  at  Rushcomb,nearTwiford,in  Berkshire,  where 
he  resided  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  After 
his  removal  to  this  place  we  find  him  at  Reading 
Monthly  Meeting,  for  he  signed  among  others  the 
testimony  concerning  Oliver  Sansom  there. 

In  1711  he  went  to  London  for  a  few  days.  He 
was  seen  at  Whitehall,  attended  by  several  of  the 
Society.  He  had  gone  in  company  with  these  to 
wait  upon  the  Duke  of  Osmond  on  his  return  from 
his  Lord  Lieutenancy  in  Ireland,  to  thank  him  for 
his  kindness  towards  his  fellow-members  during  his 
administration  there.  In  this  year  the  works  of  one 
of  his  ancient  Friends,  John  Banks,  being  ready  for 
the  press,  he  dictated  to  a  person^  as  he  walked  up 
and  down  the  room  with  a  cane  in  his  hand,  an  ex- 
cellent Preface  to  the  same,  which  was  the  last  piece 
he  ever  published^  and  which  carried  with  it  its  own 
evidence,  that  it  could  have  been  written  by  no  other 
than  a  highly  experienced  Christian.  It  ran  thusi 
"  Friendly  Reader, 

"  The  labours  of  the  servants  of  God  ought  al« 
ways  to  be  precious  in  the  eyes  of  his  people,  and 


OF    WILLIAM  1»ENN.  235 

for  that  reason  the  very  fragments  of  their  services 
are  not  to  be  lost,  but  to  be  gathered  up  for  edifica- 
tion ;  and  that  is  the  cause  why  we  expose  the  fol- 
lowing Discourses  to  public  view:  and  I  hope  it 
will  please  God  to  make  them  effectual  to  such  as 
seriously  peruse  them,  since  w^e  have  always  found 
the  Lord  ready  to  second  the  services  of  his  wor- 
thies upon  the  spirits  of  the  readers,  not  suffering 
that  which  is  his  own  to  go  without  a  voucher  in 
every  conscience,  I  mean  those  divine  truths  it  has 
pleased  him  to  reveal  among  his  children  by  his 
own  blessed  Spirit,  without  which  no  man  can 
rightly  perceive  the  things  of  God,  or  be  truly 
!:.piritually  minded,  which  is  life  and  peace.  And 
this  indeed  is  the  only  beneficial  evidence  of  hea- 
venly truths,  which  made  that  excellent  aposde 
say  in  his  day,  IVe  know  that  we  are  of  God^  and 
that  the  xvhole  world  Ikth  in  wickedness :  for  in  that 
day  true  Religion  and  undefiled  before  God  and 
the  Father  consisted  in  visiting  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  their  affiictions,  and  keeping  unspotted 
from  the  world,  hot  only  a  godly  tradition  of  what 
others  have  enjoyed,  but  the  experimental  enjoy- 
ment and  knowledge  thereof,  by  the  operation  of 
the  Divine  Power  in  their  own  hearts,  which  makes 
up  the  inward  Jew  and  accomplished  Christian, 
whose  praise  is  not  of  men,  but  of  God :  such  are 
Christians  of  Christ's  making,  that  can  say  with  the 
apostle,  It  is  not  we  that  live,  but  Christ  that  liveth 
in  us,  dying  daily  to  self,  and  rising  up,  through 
faith  in  the  Son  of  God,  to  newness  of  life.    JHere 


236  ^^EMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

formality  bows  to  reality,  memory  to  feeling,  letter 
to  spirit,  and  form 'to  power;  which  brings  to  the 
regeneration,  without  which  no  man  can  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God ;  and  by  which  he  is  enabled  in 
every  estate  to  cry  Abba  Father.  Thou'lt  see  a 
great  deal  of  this  in  the  following  author's  writings; 
and  that  he  rightly  began  with  a  just  distinction  be- 
tween true  wisdom  and  the  fame  of  wisdom,  what 
was  of  God  and  taught  of  God,  and  of  man  and 
taught  by  man,  which  at  best  is  a  sandy  foundation 
for  religion  to  be  built  upon,  or  rather  the  faith  and 
hope  of  man  in  reference  to  religion,  and  salvation 
by  it.  And  O  that  none  who  mak^  profession  of 
the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  may  build  beside  the 
work  of  Jesus  Christ  in  their  own  souls,  in  reference 
to  his  prophetical,  priestly,  and  kingly  office,  in 
which  regard  God  his  Father  gave  him  as  a  tried 
stone,  elect  and  precious,  to  build  by  and  upon ;  con- 
cerning which  great  and  glorious  truth  we  do  most 
humbly  beseech  the  Almighty,  who  is  God  of  the 
spirits  of  all  flesh,  the  Father  of  Lights  and  Spirits, 
to  ground  and  establish  all  his  visited  and  convinced 
ones,  that  they  may  grow  up  an  holy  house  and 
building  to  the  Lord ;  so  shall  purity,  peace,  and 
charity  abound  in  the  house  and  sanctuary  that  he 
hath  pitched  and  not  man. 

"  Now  as  to  this  worthy  man,  the  author  of  the 
following  treatises,  I  hope  I  may  without  offence 
say,  his  memorial  is  blessed,  having  known  him 
above  forty  years  an  heavenly  minister  of  experi- 
mental religion,  of  a  sound  judgment  and  pious 


OF    WILLIAM    TENN.  237^ 

practice,  valiant  for  the  Truth  upon  the  earth,  and 
ready  to  serve  all  in  the  love  and  peace  of  the  Gos- 
pel. He  was  amongst  the  first  in  Cumberland  that 
received  the  glad  tidings  of  it,  and  then  readily  gave 
up,  with  other  brethren,  to  declare  to  others  what 
the  Lord  had  done  for  their  souls. 

"  Thus  I  first  met  him ;  and  as  I  received  his  tes- 
timony through  the  Saviour  of  life,  so  I  was  kindly 
accepted  and  encouraged  by  him  in  the  belief  of 
the  blessed  testimony  of  the  light,  spirit,  grace,  and 
truth  of  Christ  in  the  inward  parts,  reproving,  in- 
structing, reforming,  and  redeeming  those  souls 
from  the  evil  of  the  world,  that  were  obedient  there- 
unto. Here  he  was  a  strength  to  my  soul,  in  the 
early  days  of  my  convincement,  together  with  his 
dear  and  faithful  friend,  brother,  and  fellow-travel- 
ler, John  Wilkinson  of  Cumberland,  formerly  a  very 
zealous  and  able  Independent  minister. 

"  And  as  I  hope  this  piece  .of  labour  of  our  an- 
cient friend  and  brother  will  find  acceptance  every 
where  j^mong  God's  people,  so  I  hope  it  will  he 
more  especially  acceptable  in  the  North,  where  he 
began  and  had  his  early  services ;  and  in  the  West, 
where  they  were  witnesses  of  his  care  to  preserve 
good  order  in  the  church. 

''  Now,  reader,  before  I  take  my  leave  of  thee, 
let  me  advise  thee  to  hold  thy  religion  in  the  Spirit, 
whether  thou  prayest,  praisest,  or  ministrest  to 
others;  go  forth  in  the  ability  God  giveth  thee; 
presume  not  to  awaken  thy  beloved  before  his  time; 
be  not  thy  own  in  thy  performances,  but  the  Lord's ; 


2oi  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LtFE 

and  thou  shalt  not  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness, 
as  too  many  do,  but  according  to  the  oracle  of  God, 
that  will  never  leave  nor  forsake  them  who  will  take 
counsel  at  it ;  which  that  all  God's  people  may  do, 
is  and  hath  long  been  the  earnest  desire  and  fervent 
supplication  of  their  and  thy  faithful  Friend  in  the 
.  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 

"  William  Penn. 
"  London,  23d  of  the  12th 
month,  1711." 

It  appears  that  he  also  wrote  about  this  time  an 
Introduction  (entitled  An  Epistle  to  the  Reader) 
to  some  Discourses  of  his  before-mentioned  much 
valued  Friend,  Bulstrode  Whitelocke,  which  were 
published  this  j^ear. 

In  1712  he  made  up  his  mind  to  part  with  his 
Province  to  Government;  for  which  he  asked  the 
sum  of  20,000/.  Queen  Anne  referred  his  demand 
to  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  Trade  and  Planta- 
tions, who  were  to  report  to  the  Lords  Commission- 
ers of  the  Treasury.  An  agreement  was  made  in 
consequence  for  1 2,000/. ;  but  the  bad  and  danger- 
ous state  of  his  health  during  this  year  prevented 
the  execution  of  it.  He  was  seized  at  distant  times 
with  three  several  fits  said  to  be  apoplectic,  the  lat- 
ter of  which  was  so  severe  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  he  survived  it.  It  so  shattered  his  understand- 
ing and  memory,  that  he  was  left  scarcely  fit  to 
manage  at  times  the  most  trifling  of  his  private 
concerns. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENxN,  239 

As  to  his  American  affairs,  after  the  recall  of 
Evans  he  appointed  Charles  Gookin  his  Deputy 
Governor,  to  whom  he  gave  letters  of  introduction 
to  his  Friends  in  Philadelphia,  expressive  of  his 
excellent  character.  Gookin,  it  appears,  arrived 
there  in  1709,  and  while  the  Assembly  were  sitting. 
They  presented  him  almost  immediately  with  an 
Address,  in  which  "  they  congratulated  his  season- 
able accession  to  the  Government."  This  Address 
was  however  extremely  injudicious  in  the  latter 
part  of  it ;  for,  instead  of  passing  over  all  subjects 
connected  with  former  disputes,  so  that  at  least 
their  first  act  might  breathe  the  spirit  of  peace  and 
good  will,  they  brought  to  his  notice  what  they 
called  their  old  grievances  with  an  expectation  of 
redress  from  him,  and  this  in  matters  of  which  it 
would  have  been  but  fair  to  presume  he  could  have 
known  nothing,  and  which  it  was  totally  out  of  his 
power  to  remedy. 

This  Address  produced  the  effect  which  it  was  na- 
tural to  expect  from  it ;  for,  first,  it  offended  the  Go- 
vernor at  thevery  outset  of  his  public  career.  It  would 
have  proved,  he  said,  a  much  greater  satisfaction  to 
him,  if  at  this  first  time  of  his  speaking  to  them  he 
had  had  nothing  to  take  notice  of  but  what  he  him- 
self might  have  had  to  lay  before  them.  The  Coun- 
cil too  took  umbrage  at  the  Address,  on  account  of 
expressions  in  it,  which  they  supposed  the  Assem- 
bly had  levelled  against  them,  particularly  the  words 
"evil  counsel:"  and  they  complained  to  the  Go- 
vernor accordingly;     They  of  all  others,  they  s^id, 


540  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

least  merited  this  reproach,  who  had  served  the 
State  with  their  best  advice  for  years,  xvii/iout  ever 
having  received  salary^  or  allowance^  or  office  of 
profit  of  any  kind.  Thus  unhappily  all  their  ani- 
mosities were  at  their  first  intercourse  with  each 
other  revived. 

In  June  Governor  Gookin,  in  consequence  of 
letters  from  the  Queen,  who  had  fitted  out  an  ex- 
pedition for  the  retaking  of  Newfoundland  and  the 
capture  of  Canada,  convened  the  Assembly.  He 
requested  of  them  a  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers,  as 
the  quota  for  the  Province  j  but  as  many  of  the  in- 
habitants were  hindered  by  their  principles  from 
bearing  arms,  he  engaged,  if  they  would  vote  the 
sum  of  four  thousand  pounds  for  this  purpose,  to 
raise  and  equip  the  men.  The  Assembly  replied, 
that  *^  were  it  not  that  thie  raising  of  money  to  hire 
men  to  fight,  or  kill  one  another,  was  matter  of  coin- 
science  to  them  and  against  their  religious  tenets, 
they  should  not  be  wanting  according  to  their  abili- 
ties to  contribute  to  those  designs.  They  express- 
ed however  their  loyalty  to  the  Queen,  and  added, 
that,  though  they  could  not  conscientiously  comply 
with  her  request,  yet  out  of  gratitude  to  her  they 
had  resolved  to  present  her  with  five  hundred 
pounds."  With  this  proposal  the  Governor  was 
dissatisfied.  Messages  passed  in  consequence  be- 
tween him  and  the  Assembly  ;  when  the  latter,  to 
get  rid  of  them,  adjourned  to  the  middle  of  August. 

The  adjournment  had  not  elapsed  when  the 
Governor  convened  them  again.     The  old  as  well 


OF  WILLtAM    PeuS*  241 

as  new  topics  were  now  started.  Among  the  latter 
he  informed  them,  that  there  was  no  provision  for 
his  (the  Deputy  Governor's)  support,  a  burthen 
which  the  Proprietor,  in  consequence  of  his  hard 
treatment  from  some  whom  he  had  too  far  trusted 
(Ford),  was  not  able  of  himself  to  bear.  Upon  this 
the  Assembly  added  three  hundred  to  the  five 
hundred  pounds  before  voted  to  the  Queen,  and 
two  hundred  toward  the  maintenance  of  the  Gover- 
nor :  but  this  they  did  not  do  without  stating,  that 
.they  expected  him  to  call  James  Logan  to  account, 
as  well  as  to  concur  in  the  passing  of  certain  Bills, 
which  had  been  prepared  by  former  Assemblies 
and  agreed  to  by  the  present.  The  Governor  re- 
plied, that  his  instructions  would  not  allow  him  to 
agree  to  Bills  which  broke  in  either  upon  the  Pro- 
prietary's power  of  government  or  his  just  interest ; 
but  he  advised  them  to  reconsider  the  Bills  in  ques- 
tion, and  he  would  pass  all  those  which  he  could 
conscientiously  sanction. 

The  Assembly  at  their  next  Session,  instead  of 
reconsidering  the  Bills  as  had  been  recommended 
to  them  in  the  preceding,  pressed  them  upon  the 
Governor  in  their  former  objectionable  shape  ;  the 
consequence  of  which  was,  that  he  refused  to  pass 
them.  It  appeared  too  by  his  speech  on  the  oc- 
casion, that  he  was  not  allowed  to  pass  any  Bill 
without  the  approbation  of  the  Council.  This 
declaration  inflamed  the  Assembly  again.  They 
immediately  sent  hinv  a  Remonstrance,  in  which 
they  pronounced  the  restriction,  which  had  been 

VOL.  II.  Y 


242  MEMOIRS   OF   THE   LIFE 

put  upon  him,  to  be  contrary  to  the  Royal  Charter  ; 
and  they  inveighed  against  James  Logan  as  the 
author  of  all  their  grievances ;  so  that  this  Session 
ended  also  to  the  irritation  of  both  parties,  and  to 
the  profit  of  neither. 

In  October  a  new  election  took  place,  when  the 
same  members  were  mostly  returned.  The  Gover- 
nor pressed  upon  them  a  provision  for  the  Lieu- 
tenancy of  the  Government.  He  entreated  them, 
though  he  wished  to  take  no  retrospect  of  what  was 
past,  to  abstain  from  all  irritating  expressions  in, 
their  Addresses,  such  as  those  of  evil  couiisel^  grie- 
vances^ and  oppressions^  words  which  he  was  sure 
were  understood  by  none  of  them  practically.  With 
respect  to  James  Logan,  he  had  read  his  written 
defence,  in  which  he  charged  their  own  Speaker 
with  proceedings,  which,  if  true,  would  require  the 
consideration  of  the  House.  To  this  they  replied, 
that  they  had  it  under  consideration  to  make  a 
proper  provision  for  the  Deputy  Governor's  sup- 
port ;  but  according  to  the  fundamental  laws  of  the 
English  Constitution,  they  were  not  obliged  to  con- 
tribute to  the  support  of  that  Administration  which 
afforded  them  no  redress  when  their  rights  were 
violated.  They  then  repeated  all  the  irritating  ex- 
pressions before  mentioned,  which  they  justified; 
and  contended,  that  if  he  (the  Deputy  Governor) 
believed  Logan's  charges  against  their  Speaker,  he 
ought  not  to  have  approved  of  the  latter  when  they 
had  chosen  him.     After  this  the  Governor  went  to 


OF  WILLIAM    PENN.  243 

Newcastle,  to  preside  over  the  Assembly  for  the 
Territories  there. 

In  November  the  Assembly  for  the  Province 
met  again.  James  Logan,  who  was  going  to  Eng- 
land for  a  time,  petitioned  them  that  he  might  be 
tried  upon  the  impeachment  of  a  former  Assembly 
in  1  r06.  Upon  this  they  resolved  to  take  into  con- 
sideration his  defence  as  well  as  charge  against 
their  own  Speaker :  but  instead  of  going  properly 
into  either,  they  issued  a  warrant,  signed  by  their 
own  Speaker,  for  apprehending  and  putting  Logan 
in  gaol.  This  they  issued  for  his  offence  in  reflect- 
ing upon  sundry  members  of  the  House  in  particu- 
lar, and  the  whole  House  in  general;  but  by  a 
supersedeas  from  the  Governor  the  execution  of  it 
was  prevented.  The  Assembly  in  return  pro- 
nounced the  supersedeas  an  illegal  and  arbitrary 
measure :  and  hence  the  animosities  on  both  sideg 
were  continued  with  renewed  vigour. 

James  Logan,  after  this,  proceeded  to  England, 
where  he  arrived  early  in  1710.  He  was  the  bearer 
of  all  these  unpleasant  proceedings  to  William 
Penn,  before  whom  he  cleared  himself  to  entire 
satisfaction.  The  news  which  he  carried  him 
would  have  been  distressing  at  any  time,  but  more 
particularly  at  the  present,  when  his  constitution  had 
begun  so  materially  to  fail.  William  Penn,  how- 
ever, summoning  all  his  strength  and  faculties,  made 
an  efforUto  write  a  letter  to  the  Assembly,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy.  I  could  wish  the  reader  to 
observe,  that  he  was  then  in  his  seventieth  year. 


244  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

*'  London,  29th  4th  month,  1710. 
"  Mr  OLD  Friends^ 

''  It  is  a  mournful  consideration,  and  the  cause  of 
deep  affliction  to  me,  that  I  am  forced,  by  the  op- 
pressions and  disappointments,  which  have  fallen  to 
my  share  in  this  life,  to  speak  to  the  people  of  that 
Province  in  a  language  I  once  hoped  I  sh*juld  never 
have  had  occasion  to  use.  But  the  many  troubles 
and  oppositions  that  I  have  met  with  from  thence, 
oblige  me,  in  pl^inijess  and  freedom,  to  expostulate 
with  you  concerning  the  causes  of  them. 

*'  When  it  pleased  God  to  open  a  way  for  me  to 
settle  that  colony,  I  had  reason  to  expect  a  solid 
comfort  from  the  services  done  to  many  hundreds 
of  people  ;  and  it  was  no  small  satisfaction  to  me, 
that  I  have  not  been  disappointed  in  seeing  them 
prosper,  and  gr©wing  up  to  a  flourishing  country, 
blessed  with  liberty,  ease,  and  plenty,  beyond  what 
many  of  themselves  could  expect,  and  wanting 
nothing  to  make  themselves  happy,  but  what  with  a 
right  temper  of  mind  and  prudent  conduct  they 
might  give  themselves.  But,  alas  !  as  to  my  part, 
instead  of  reaping  the  like  advantages,  some  of  the 
greatest  of  my  troubles  have  arisen  from  thence. 
The  many  combats  I  have  engaged  in,  the  great 
pains  and  incredible  expense  for  your  welfare  and 
ease  to  the  decay  of  my  former  estate,  of  which 
(however  some  there  would  represent  it)  I  too 
sensibly  feel  the  effects,  with  the  undeserved  op- 
position I  have  met  with  from  thence,  sink  me  into 
sorrow,  that,  if  not  supported  by  a  superior  hand. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  245 

might  have  overwhelmed  me  long  ago.  And  I 
cannot  but  think  it  hard  measure,  that,  while  that 
has  proved  a  land  of  freedom  and  flourishing,  it 
should  become  to  me,  by  whose  means  it  was  prin- 
cipally made  a  country,  the  cause  of  grief,  trouble, 
and  poverty. 

"  For  this  reason  I  must  desire  you  all,  even  of 
all  professions  and  degrees  (for  although  all  have 
not  been  engaged  in  the  measures  that  have  been 
taken,  yet  every  man  who  has  an  interest  there  is  or 
must  be  concerned  in  them  by  their  effects),  I  must 
therefore,  I  say,  desire  you  all,  in  a  serious  and  true 
weightiness  of  mind,  to  consider  what  you  are,  or 
have  been,  doing  ;  why  matters  must  be  carried  on 
with  these  divisions  and  contentions ;  and  what  real 
causes  have  been  given,  on  my  side,  for  that  op- 
position to  me  and  my  interest,  which  I  have  met 
with,  as  if  1  were  an  enemy,  and  not  a  friend,  after 
all  I  have  done  and  spent  both  here  and  there  :  I  am 
sure  I  know  not  of  any  cause  whatsoever.  Were  I 
sensible  you  really  wanted  any  thing  of  me,  in  the 
relation  between  us,  that  would  make  you  happier, 
I  should  readily  grant  it,  if  any  reasonable  man 
would  say  it  were  fit  for  you  to  demand,  provided 
you  would  also  take  such  measures  as  were  fit  for 
me  to  join  with. 

'"  Before  any  one  family  had  transported  them- 
selves thither,  I  earnestly  endeavoured  to  form  such 
a  model  of  Government  as  might  make  all  concern- 
ed in  it  easy  ;  which,  nevertheless,  was  subject  to  be 
altered  as  there  should  be  occasion.  Soon  after  we 
Y2 


246  MEMOIRS    OF    THE   LIFE 

got  over  that  model  appeared,  in  some  parts  of  it,  to 
be  very  inconvenient,  if  not  impracticable.  The 
numbers  of  members,  both  in  the  Council  and  As- 
sembly, were  much  too  large.  Some  other  matters 
also  proved  inconsistent  with  the  King's  Charter  to 
me  ;  so  that,  according  to  the  power  reserved  for  an 
alteration,  there  was  a  necessity  to  make  one,  in 
which,  if  the  lower  counties  (the  Territories)  were 
brought  in,  it  was  well  known,  at  that  time,  to  be  on 
a  view  of  advantage  to  the  Province  itself,  as  well 
as  to  the  people  of  those  counties,  and  to  the  general 
satisfaction  of  those  concerned,  without  the  least  ap- 
prehension of  any  irregularity  in  the  method. 

*'  Upon  this  they  had  another  Charter  passed, 
nemine  contradzcente ;  which  I  always  desired  might 
be  continued  while  you  yourselves  would  keep.up  to 
it  and  put  it  in  practice ;  and  many  there  know  much 
it  was  against  my  will,  that,  upon  my  last  going 
over,  it  was  vacated.  But  after  this  was  laid  aside 
(which  indeed  was  begun  by  yourselves  in  Colonel 
Fletcher's  time)  I,  according  to  my  engagement, 
left  another,  with  all  the  privileges  that  were  found 
convenient  for  your  good  government ;  and,  if  any 
part  of  it  has  been  in  any  case  infringed,  it  was  ne- 
ver by  my  approbation.  I  desired  it  might  be  en- 
joyed fully.  But  though  privileges  ought  to  be  ten- 
derly preserved,  they  should  not,  on  the  other  hand, 
be  asserted  under  that  name  to  a  licentiousness :  the 
design  of  Government  is  to  preserve  good  order, 
which  may  be  equally  broke  in  upon  by  the  turbu- 
lei)t  ei)deavour3  of  the  People,  as  well  as  the  over:- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  247 

Straining  of  power  in  a  Governor,  I  designed  the 
people  should  be  secured  of  an  annual  fixed  election 
and  Assembly ;  and  that  they  should  have  the  same 
privileges  in  it,  that  any  other  Assembly  has  in  the 
Queen's  dominions ;  among  all  which  this  is  one  con- 
stant rule,  as  in  the  Parliament  here,  that  they  should 
sit  on  their  own  adjournments  :  but  to  strain  this  ex- 
pression to  a  power  to  meet  at  all  times  during  the 
year,  without  the  Governor's  concurrence,  would 
be  to  distort  Government,  to  break  the  due  propor- 
tion of  the  parts  of  it,  to  establish  confusion  in  the 
place  of  necessary  order,  and  make  the  legislative 
the  executive  part  of  Government.  Yet,  for  obtain- 
ing this  power,  I  perceive,  much  time  and  money 
has  been  spent,  and  great  struggles  have  been  made, 
not  only  for  this,  but  some  other  things  that  cannot 
at  all  be  for  the  advantage  of  the  people  to  be  pos- 
sessed of;  particularly  the  appointing  of  Judges; 
because  the  administration  might,  by  such  means, 
be  so  clogged,  that  it  would  be  difficult,  if  possible, 
under  our  circumstances,  at  some  times  to  support 
it.  As  for  my  own  part,  as  I  desire  nothing  more 
than  the  tranquillity  and  prosperity  of  the  Province 
and  Government  in  all  its  branches,  could  I  see  that 
any  of  these  things  that  have  been  contended  for 
would  certainly  promote  these  ends,  it  would  be  a 
matter  of  indifference  to  me  how  they  were  settled. 
But  seeing  the  frame  of  every  Government  ought  to 
be  regular  in  itself,  well  proportioned  and  subordi- 
nate in  its  parts,  and  every  branch  of  it  invested  with 
sufficient  power  to  discharge  its  respective  duty  for 


248  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

the  support  of  the  whole  ;  I  have  cause  to  believe 
that  nothing  could  be  more  destructive  to  it,  than  to 
take  so  much  of  the  provision  and  executive  part  of 
the  Government  out  of  the  Governor's  hands  and 
lodge  it  in  an  uncertain  collective  body ;  and  more 
especially  since  our  Government  is  dependent,  and 
I  am  answerable  to  the  Crown,  if  the  administration 
should  faiV,  and  a  stop  be  put  to  the  course  of  jus- 
tice. On  these  considerations,  I  cannot  think  it  pru- 
dent in  the  people  to  crave  these  powers  ;  because 
not  only  I,  but  they  themselves,  would  be  in  danger 
of  suffering  by  it.  Could  I  believe  otherwise,  I 
should  not  be  against  granting  any  thing  of  this 
kind,  that  were  asked  of  me  with  any  degree  of  com- 
mon prudence  and  civility.  But,  instead  of  finding 
cause  to  believe  the  contentions  that  have  been  rais- 
ed about  these  matters,  have  proceeded  only  from 
mistakes  of  judgment,  with  an  earnest  desire  not- 
withstanding at  the  bottom  to  serve  the  public  (which 
I  hope  has  still  been  the  inducement  of  several  con- 
cerned in  them),  I  have  had  but  too  sorrowful  a 
view  and  sight  to  complain  of  the  manner  in  which 
I  have  been  treated.  The  attacks  on  my  reputa- 
tion ;  the  many  indignities  put  upon  me  in  papers 
sent  over  hither  into  the  hands  of  those,  who  could 
not  be  expected  to  make  the  most  discreet  and  cha- 
ritable use  of  them  ;  the  secret  insinuations  against 
my  justice  ;  besides  the  attempt  made  upon  my 
estate  ;  resolves  past  in  the  Assemblies  for  turning 
my  quitrents,  never  sold  by  me,  to  the  support  of 
Government  j  my  lands  entered  upon  without  any 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  249 

regular  method ;  my  manors  invaded  (under  pre- 
tence I  had  not  duly  surveyed  them),  and  both  these 
by  persons  principally  concerned  in  these  attempts 
against  me  here  ;  a  right  to  my  overplus  land  unjust- 
ly claimed  by  the  possessors  of  the  tracts  in  which 
they  are  found  ;  my  private  estate  continually  t  x- 
hausting  for  the  support  of  that  Government,  both 
here  and  there,  and  no  provision  made  for  it  bv  that 
country;  to  all  which  I  cannot  but  add  the  violence 
that  has  been  particularly  shown  to  my  Secretary/  ; 
of  which  (though  I  shall  by  no  means  protect  him  in 
any  thing  he  can  justly  be  charged  with,  but  suffer 
him  to  stand  or  fall  by  his  own  actions)  I  cannot  but 
thus  far  take  notice,  that,  from  all  the  charges  I 
have  seen  or  heard  of  against  him,  I  have  cause  to 
believe,  that  had  he  been  as  much  in  opp>osition  to 
me,  as  he  has  been  understood  to  stand  for  me,  he 
might  have  met  with  a  milder  treatment  from  his 
persecutors  ;  and  to  think  that  any  man  should  be- 
the  more  exposed  there  on  my  account,  and,  instead 
of  finding  favour,  meet  with  enmity,  for  his  being 
engaged  in  my  service,  is  a  melancholy  considera- 
tion !  In  short,  when  I  reflect  on  all  these  heads, 
of  which  I  have  so  much  cause  to  complain,  and  at 
the  same  time  think  of  the  hardships  I  and  my  suf- 
fering family  have  been  reduced  to,  in  no  small  mea- 
sure owing  to  my  endeavours  for,  and  disappoint- 
ments from,  that  Province  ;  I  cannot  but  mourn  the, 
unhappiness  of  my  portion,  dealt  to  me  from  those, 
of  whom  I  had  reason  to  expect  much  better  and 
different  things  ;  nor  can  I  but  lament  the  unhappi- 


250  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ness  that  too  many  of  them  are  bringing  on  them- 
selves, who,  instead  of  pursuing  the  amicable  ways 
of  peace,  love,  and  unity,  which  I  at  first  hoped  to 
find  in  that  retirement,  are  cherishing  a  spirit  of  con- 
tention and  opposition,  and,  blind  to  their  own  inte- 
pest,  are  oversetting  that  foundation  on  which  your 
happiness  might  be  built. 

*'  Friends  !  the  eyes  of  many  are  upon  you  ;  the 
people  of  many  nations  of  Europe  look  on  that 
Country  as  a  land  of  ease  and  quiet,  wishing  to 
themselves  in  vain  the  same  blessings  they  conceive 
you  may  enjoy :  but,  to  see  the  use  you  make  of 
them  is  no  less  the  cause  of  surprise  to  others,  while 
such  bitter  complaints  and  reflections  are  seen  to 
come  from  you,  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
even  the  sense  or  meaning.  Where  are  the  dis- 
tresses, grievances,  and  oppressions,  that  the  paper3, 
sent  from  thence,  so  often  say  you  languish  under, 
while  others  have  cause  to  believe  you  have  hither- 
to lived,  or  might  live,  the  happiest  of  any  in  the 
Queen's  dominions  ? 

"  Is  it  such  a  grievous  oppression,  that  the 
Courts  are  established  by  my  power,  founded  on 
the  King's  Charter,  without  a  law  of  your  making, 
when  upon  the  same  plan  you  propose  ?  If  this  dis- 
turb any,  take  the  advice  of  other  able  lawyers  on 
the  main,  without  tying  me  up  to  the  opinion  of 
principally  one  man,  w^hom  I  cannot  think  so  very 
proper  to  direct  in  my  affairs  (for  I  believe  the  late 
Assembly  have  had  but  that  one  lawyer  amongst 
them),  and  I  am  freely  content  you  should  have  any 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  251 

law  that,  by  proper  judges,  should  be  found  suita- 
ble. Is  it  your  oppression  that  the  Officers'  fees 
are  not  settled  by  an  Act  of  Assembly  ?  No  man 
can  be  a  greater  enemy  to  extortion  than  myself. 
Do,  therefore,  allow  such  fees  as  may  reasonably 
encourage  fit  persons  to  undertake  these  offices,  and 
you  shall  soon  have  (and  should  have  always  cheer- 
fully had)  mine,  and,  I  hope,  my  Lieutenant's  con- 
currence and  approbation.  Is  it  such  an  oppression 
that  licenses  for  public-houses  have  not  been 
settled,  as  has  been  proposed  t  It  is  a  certain  sign 
you  are  strangers  to  oppression,  and  know  nothing 
but  the  name,  when  you  so  highly  bestow  it  on 
matters  so  inconsiderable  :  but  that  business  I  find 
is  adjusted.  Could  I  know  any  real  oppression  you 
lie  under,  that  it  is  in  my  power  to  remedy,  (and 
what  I  wish  you  would  take  proper  measures  to 
remedy,  if  you  truly  feel  any  such,)  I  would  be  as 
ready  on  my  part  to  remove  them  as  you  to  desire 
it ;  but,  according  to  the  best  judgment  I  can 
make  of  the  complaints  I  have  seen  (and  you  once 
thought  I  had  a  pretty  good  one),  I  must  in  a  deep 
sense  of  sorrow  say,  that  I  fear  the  kind  hand  of 
Providence,  that  has  so  long  favoured  and  pro- 
tected you,  will,  by  the  ingratitude  of  many  there  to 
the  great  mercies  of  God  hitherto  shown  them,  be 
at  length  provoked  to  convince  them  of  their  un- 
worthiness  ;  lad,  by  changing  the  blessings,  that  so 
little  care  has  been  taken  by  the  public  to  deserve, 
into^  caL^mi  ies,  reduce  those  that  have  been  so 
clamorous  and  causelessly  discontented  to  a  true 


252  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

but  smarting  sense  of  their  duty.  1  write  not  this 
with  a  design  to  include  all :  I  doubt  not  many  of 
you  have  been  burthened  at,  and  can  by  no  means 
join  in,  the  measures  that  have  been  taken;  but 
while  such  things  appear  under  the  name  of  an  As- 
sembly, that  ought  to  represent  the  whole,  I  cannot 
but  speak  more  generally  than  I  would  desire, 
though  I  am  not  insensible  what  methods  ma\  be 
used  to  obtain  the  weight  of  such  a  name. 

"  I  have  already  been  tedious,  and  shall  now 
therefore  briefly  say,  that  the  opposition  I  have  met 
with  from  thence  must  at  length  force  me  to  con- 
sider more  closely  of  my  own  private  and  sinking 
circumstances  in  relation  to  that  Province.  In  the 
mean  time,  I  desire  you  all  seriously  to  weigh  what 
I  have  wrote,  together  with  your  duty  to  your- 
selves, to  me,  and  to  the  world,  who  have  their  eyes 
upon  you,  and  are  witnesses  of  my  early  and  earnest 
care  for  you.  I  must  think  there  is  a  regard  due  to 
me  that  has  not  of  late  been  paid  ;  pray  consider  of 
it  fully,  and  think  soberly  what  you  have  to  desire 
of  me  on  the  one  hand,  and  ought  to  perform  to  me 
on  the  other ;  for  from  the  next  Assembly  I  shall 
expect  to  know  what  you  resolve,  and  what  I  may 
depend  on.  If  I  must  continue  my  regards  to  you, 
let  me  be  engaged  to  it  by  a  like  disposition  in  you 
towards  me.  But  if  a  plurality,  after  this,  shall 
think  they  owe  me  none,  or  no  more  than  for  some 
years  I  have  met  with,  let  it,  on  a  fair  Election,  be 
so  declared  ;  and  I  shall  then,  without  further  sus- 
pense, know  what  I  have  to  rely  upon.     God  give 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  2J3 

you  his  wisdom  and  fear  to  direct  you,  that  yet  oui 
poor  Country  may  be  blessed  with  peace,  love,  and 
industry,  and  we  may  once  more  meet  good  friends, 
and  live  so  to  the  end,  our  relation  in  the  Trudt 
having  but  the  same  true  interest. 

"  I  am,  with  great  truth  and  most  sincere  regard, 
your  real  Friend  as  well  as  just  Proprietor  and 
Governor, 

"  William  Penn.'' 

This  letter  arrived  safe.  What  answer  was  re- 
turned to  it  does  not  appear  :  but  the  result  of  it  is 
well  known  ;  for,  however  there  might  be  some 
who  thought  the  Proprietor  had  not  conducted 
himself  properly  in  all  respects  towards  them,  yet 
the  serious  nature  of  it  affected  the  considerate  part 
of  the  Assembly,  so  that  they  began  now  to  feel  for 
the  Father  of  his  Country,  to  pity  him  in  his  declin- 
ing years,  and  to  put  a  just  value  upon  his  labours, 
which  had  been  expended  indeed  in  their  service. 
This  sentiment  spread  as  the  contents  of  the  letter 
became  known,  so  as  at  length  to  affect  the  whole 
Province ;  the  consequence  of  which  was,  that  at 
the  next  annual  Election  in  October  not  one  of  those 
Members  was  returned  xuho  had  served  in  the  pre- 
ceding year.  This  was  the  greatest  compliment 
that  the  Province  could  at  this  time  have  paid  him. 
It  was  in  fact  a  national  answer  to,  and  a  national 
compliance  with,  his  letter :  "  for  if,'^  said  he  in 
that  letter,  as  we  have  just  read,  ''  a  plurality,  after 
this,  shall  think  they  owe  me  no  regard,  or  no  more 
than  for  some  years  I  have  met  with,  let  it,  on  a  fair 
vol.  !!•  Z 


254  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LlfL 

Election,  be  so  declared  ;  and  I  shall  then,  without 
further  suspense,  know  what  I  have  to  rely  upon." 

The  new  Members  having  been  elected,  and 
duly  qualified  to  act,  Governor  Gookin  met  them 
in  Assembly,  Great  harmony  is  said  to  have  sub- 
sisted between  them  and  the  Governor,  such  as  had 
not  been  witnessed  for  years,  so  that  many  Laws 
were  agreed  upon  and  passed  to  the  satisfaction  of 
all  the  branches  of  the  Legislature. 

In  the  early  part  of  1711,  the  Governor,  having 
received  an  express  from  England  respecting  the 
expedition  against  Canada,  convened  the  same  As- 
sembly. He  proposed  to  them,  as  he  had  done  to 
their  predecessors,  the  raising  and  equipment  of  a 
certain  number  of  men,  or  that  they  would  vote  a 
sum  equivalent  to  the  purpose.  They  expressed 
their  regret,  that  on  account  of  their  religious  prin- 
ciples they  could  not  comply  with  his  request ;  but 
they  voted  two  thousand  pounds  as  a  present  to  the 
Queen,  and  passed  a  Bill  for  the  raising  of  it. 

In  the  October  follov;ing  the  Election  came  on 
again.  Sev^eral  of  those  who  were  in  the  Assembly 
of  1709  were  chosen,  but  the  House  retained  its 
last  Speaker.  Governor  Gookin  informed  them, 
that  the  Proprietary  had  desired  him  to  signify  to 
them  the  pleasure  which  their  harmonious  conduct 
of  late  had  given  him,  and  that  he  should  be  glad  to 
serve  the  people  of  the  Province ;  and  that  he  left  it 
to  themselves  to  think  of  the  means  that  might  best 
conduce  to  their  own  quiet  and  interest.  He  offer- 
ed at  the  same  time  his  own  ready  concurrence  to 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  235 

any  thing  of  that  nature  which  they  should  propose 
consistent  with  the  honour  and  interest  of  the 
Crown,  of  the  Proprietary,  and  of  the  public 
welfare.  He  concluded  his  Address  to  them  by 
recommending  them  to  think  of  a  proper  provision 
for  his  own  support. 

In  return  to  this,  the  Assembly  acknowledged 
the  kind  regard  of  the  Proprietor  towards  them  ; 
they  thanked  the  Governor  for  his  ow^n  readiness  to 
concur  in  the  propositions  of  the  latter,  and  they 
promised  to  take  care  of  his  support ;  which  they 
did  afterwards  to  his  satisfaction. 

But  here  it  will  be  necessary  to  conclude  our 
history  of  the  Province  :  for  William  Penn  having 
lost  in  a  great  degree  his  memory  and  understand- 
ing by  an  apoplectic  fit  in  the  ensuing  year,  we  can 
have  no  motive  for  continuing  it.  While  he  was  in 
his  health  and  senses  we  saw  him  move  and  act. 
We  saw  him  advise  and  direct.  We  took  there- 
fore an  interest  in  v/hat  he  did.  But  when  he  was 
rendered  mcapable  of  acting,  w^e  lose  our  interest 
with  Viis  powtrs.  And  the  same  may  be  said  rela- 
tive to  himself;  for,  when  he  was  rendered  incapa- 
ble of  his  usual  perceptions,  the  Province  became  as 
de^.d  to  hi rn  in  point  of  interrBt.  as  without  his 
movements  and  motives  it  becomes  to  ua. 


256  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A.  1713-14-15-16-17-18— .^m^wfl:%  declines— ac- 
count of  him  during-  this  period — dies  at  Rush- 
comb — concourse  of  people  at  his  funeral^— malevo- 
lent report  concerning  him  after  his  death — cer- 
tificates of  Simon  Clement  and  Hannah  Mitchell — 
short  account  of  his  will. 

The  account  which  we  have  of  William  Penn 
from  this  time,  though  authentic  as  far  as  it  goes,  is 
very  short.  It  is  stated  in  Besse's  History  of  his 
Life,  that  one  of  his  intimate  Friends  visited  him 
once  every  year  from  the  present  period  ;  and  it  is 
chiefly  from  him,  that  is,  from  the  memorandums 
he  left  behind  him  of  these  visits,  that  I  have  been 
enabled  to  continue  it. 

In  1713  the  Friend  alluded  to,  being  at  his  bouse 
some  days,  "  found  him  to  appearance  pretty  well 
in  health,  and  cheerful  of  disposition,  but  defective 
in  memory  ;  so  that  though  he  could  relate  many 
past  transactions,  yet  he  could  not  readily  recollect 
the  names  of  absent  persons,  nor  could  he  deliver 
his  words  so  readily  as  heretofore :  yet  many 
savoury  and  sensible  expressions  came  from  him, 
rendering  his  company  even  yet  acceptable,  and 
manifesting  the  religious  stability  of  his  mind." 

The  same  Friend  in  his  second  visit,  which  he 
made  to  him  in  the  spring  of  1714,  found  him  very 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  257 

little  altered  from  what  he  had  been  last  year.  He 
accompanied  him  in  his  carriage  to  Reading  meet- 
ing. He  describes  him  as  rising  up  there  to  exhort 
those  present ;  as  speaking  several  sensible  senten- 
ces, though  not  able  to  say  much  ;  and,  on  leaving 
the  meeting  to  return  home,  as  taking  leave  of  his 
friends  with  much  tenderness.  This,  as  I  observed 
before,  was  in  the  spring ;  but  we  learn  something 
more  concerning  him  from  another  quarter  in  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year.  His  old  friend  Tliomas 
Story  arrived  at  this  time  in  England,  and  went  to 
Rushcomb  to  see  him.  The  account  he  gives  of 
him  is  as  follows :  '^  He  was  then,"  says  Thomas 
Story,  "  under  the  lamentable  effects  of  an  apoplec- 
tic fit,  which  he  had  had  some  time  before  ;  for  his 
memory  was  almost  quite  lost,  and  the  use  of  his 
understanding  suspended,  so  that  he  was  not  so  con- 
versible  as  formerly,  and  yet  as  near  the  Truth,  in 
the  love  of  it,  as  before,  wherein  appeared  the  great 
mercy  and  favour  of  God,  who  looks  not  as  man 
looks  ;  for  though  to  some  this  accident  might  look 
like  judgment,  and  no  doubt  his  enemies  so  ac- 
counted it,  yet  it  will  bear  quite  another  interpreta- 
tion, if  it  be  considered  how  litde  time  of  rest  he 
ever  had  from  the  importunities  of  the  affairs  of 
others,  to  the  great  hurt  of  his  own  and  suspension 
of  all  his  enjoyments,  till  this  happened  to  him,  by 
which  he  was  rendered  incapable  of  all  business, 
and  yet  sensible  of  the  enjoyment  of  Truth  as  at  any 
time  in  all  his  life.  When  I  went  to  the  house  I 
though  myself  strong  enough  to  see  him  in  that 
Z2 


258  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

condition;  but  when  I  entered  the  room,  and  per- 
ceived the  great  defect  of  his  expressions  for  want 
of  memory,  it  greatly  bowed  my  spirit  under  a  con- 
sideration of  the  uncertainty  of  all  human  qualifica- 
tions, and  what  the  finest  of  men  are  soon  reduced 
to  by  a  disorder  of  the  organs  of  that  body,  with 
which  the  soul  is  connected  and  acts  during  this 
present  mode  of  being.  When  these  are  but  a 
little  obstructed  in  their  various  functions,  a  man  of 
the  clearest  parts  and  finest  expression  becomes 
scarcely  intelligible.  Nevertheless,  no  insanity  or 
lunacy  at  all  appeared  in  his  actions ;  and  his  mind 
was  in  an  innocent  state,  as  appeared  by  his  very 
loving  deportment  to  all  that  came  near  him ;  and 
that  he  had  still  a  good  sense  of  Truth  is  plain  by 
some  very  clear  sentences  he  spoke  m  the  life  and 
power  of  Truth  in  an  evening-meeting  we  had  toge- 
ther there,  wherein  we  were  greatly  comforted ;  so 
that  I  w^as  ready  to  think  this  was  a  sort  of  seques- 
tration of  him  from  all  the  concerns  of  this  life 
which  so  much  oppressed  him,  not  in  judgment, 
but  in  mercy,  tliat  he  might  have  rest,  and  not  be 
oppressed  thereby  to  the  end.'^ 

In  1715  his  intimate  friend  before  alluded  to  again 
visited  him.  His  memory,  it  appears,  had  become 
yet  more  deficient,  but  his  love  and  sense  of  religi- 
ous enjoyments  apparently  continued;  for  he  still 
often  went  in  his  chariot  to  the  meeting  at  Reading, 
and  there  sometimes  uttered  short  but  very  sound 
and  savoury  expressions^  One  morning,  while  this 
friend  was  at  his  house,  being  about  to  go  to  the 


OF    WILLIAM    PENxV.  259 

meeting,  he  expressed  hrs  desire  to  the  Lord  that 
they  might  receive  some  good  from  him.  This 
year  he  went  to  Bath,  but  the  waters  there  proved 
of  no  benefit  to  his  long- continued  complaint. 

In  1716  the  same  friend  and  another  visited  him 
again,  at  whose  coming  he  seemed  glad ;  and  though 
he  could  not  then  remember  their  names,  yet  by  his 
answers  it  appeared  he  knew  their  persons.  He 
was  now  much  weaker  than  last  year,  but  still  ex- 
pressed himself  sensibly  at  times,  and  particularly 
took  his  leave  of  them  at  their  going  away  in  these 
words:  "  My  love  is  with  you;  the  Lord  preserve 
you  and  remember  me  in  the  everlasting  covenant." 

In  1717  his  friend  made  his  last  visit  to  him. 
He  then  found  his  understanding  so  much  weaken- 
ed, that  he  scarce  knew  his  old  acquaintances ;  and 
his  bodily  strength  so  much  decayed,  that  he  could 
not  well  walk  without  leading,  nor  scarce  express 
himself  intelligibly. 

We  learn  from  this  account  of  his  friend,  com- 
bined with  that  of  Thomas  Story,  that  his  decay 
was  gradual;  and  that,  though  hi«  frame  had  been 
so  grievously  shattered  and  impaired,  his  existence 
under  it  had  been  left  comfortable.  He  had  suffi- 
cient sense  and  understanding  left  to  exhibit  the  out- 
ward appearance  of  innocence  and  love,  and  the  in- 
ward one  of  the  enjoyment  of  the  Deity  himself 
by  an  almost  constant  communion  with  his  Holy 
Spirit. 

In  the  year  1718  the  forementioned  History  of 
bis  Life  continues  the  account  thus :  "  After  a  con- 


260  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

tinued  and  gradual  declension  for  about  six  years 
his  body  now  drew  near  to  its  dissolution,  and  on 
the  thirtieth  day  of  the  fifth  month  (July)  1718, 
between  two  and  three  in  the  morning,  in  the 
seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age,  his  soul,  prepared 
for  a  more  glorious  habitation,  forsook  the 
decayed  tabernacle,  which  was  committed  to  the 
earth  on  the  fifth  of  the  sixth  month  following 
at  Jordans  in  Buckinghamshire,  where  his  former 
wife  and  several  of  his  family  had  been  interred. 
And  as  he  had  led  in  this  life  a  course  of  patient 
continuance  in  well-doing,  and  through  faith  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  had  been  enabled  to  overcome 
the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,  the  grand  ene- 
mies of  man's  salvation,  he  is,  we  doubt  not,  admit- 
ted to  that  everlasting  inheritance  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  his  people,  and  made  partaker  of  the 
promise  of  Christ,  Rev.  iii.  21.  '  To  him  that  over- 
Cometh  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne, 
even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my 
Father  in  his  throne.'  " 

His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  great  concourse  of 
people  from  all  parts,  by  many  of  the  most  valued 
of  the  Society,  and  by  many  of  different  religious 
denominations,  to  pay  this  last  tribute  of  respect  to 
him.  Among  the  former  was  Thomas  Story. 
"  I  arrived,"  says  Thomas  Story,  ''  at  Rushcomb 
late  in  the  evening,  where  I  found  the  widow  and 
most  of  the  family  together.  My  coming  occasion- 
ed a  fresh  remembrance  of  the  deceased,  and  also  a 
renewed  flood  of  many  tears  from  all  eyes.     A 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  261 

solid  time  (of  worship)  we  had  together,  but  few 
words  among  us  for  some  time  ;  for  it  was  a  deep 
baptizing  season,  and  the  Lord  was  near  at  that 
time.  On  the  fifth  I  accompanied  the  corpse  to 
the  grave,  where  we  had  a  large  meeting;  and  as 
the  Lord  had  made  choice  of  him  in  the  days  of 
his  youth  for  great  and  good  services— — had  been 
with  him  in  many  dangers  and  difficulties  of  various 
sorts,  and  did  not  leave  him  in  his  last  moments 

so  he  was  pleased  to  honour  this  occasion  with 

his  blessed  presence,  and  gave  us  a  happy  season  of 
his  goodness  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  all. '^ 

After  his  funeral,  as  if  malevolence  had  not  suffi- 
ciently harassed  him  in  life,  a  report  got  abroad,  that 
he  had  died  mad  at  Bath.  The  report  spreading, 
Henry  Pickworth,  who  had  been  formerly  a  minis- 
ter among  the  Quakers  but  disowned  by  them, 
availed  himself  of  it,  if  he  did  not  invent  it,  to 
wound  the  feelings  of  the  latter.  Accordingly,  so 
late  even  as  twelve  years  after  his  death,  that  is,  in 
1 730,  he  published  a  letter,  in  which  he  stated  the 
two  circumstances  before  mentioned;  and  in  ad- 
verting to  the  lunacy,  he  described  it  to  be  "  of  the 
nature  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  of  old,  which  termi- 
nated in  rage  and  madness  before  the  end  of  his 
days."  Joseph  Besse  in^  his  "  Answer  to  Patrick 
Smith,  M.  A.  a  Clergyman  of  Huntingdonshire," 
notices  the  two  charges,  and  repels  them  thus:  **  But 
if,"  says  he,  "  he  was  never  lunatic  nor  mad,  and 
did  not  end  his  days  at  Bath,  then  here  are  two 
falsehoods  in  fact."     After  this  he  produced  tw© 


262  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

certificates,  to  establish  the  falsehoods;  one  from 
Simon  Clement,  a  gentleman  who  had  been  an  inti- 
mate acquaintance  ot  William  Penn,  and  the  other 
from  Hannah  Mitchell  of  St.  M art m-le- grand, 
London.     The  former  ran  thus : 

''  He  was  indeed,"  says  Mr.  Clement,  "  attacked 
with  a  kind  of  apoplectic  fit  in  London  in  the  month 
of  May  1712,  from  which  he  recovered,  and  did  go 
to  the  Bath,  and  from  thence  to  Bristol,  where  he 
had  a  second  fit  about  September  following ;  and 
in  about  three  months  after  he  had  the  third  fit  at 
his  own  house  at  Rushcomb,  which  impaired  his 
memory,  so  that  though  he  knew  his  friends  well, 
who  came  to  visit  him,  and  rejoiced  to  see  them, 
yet  he  could  not  hold  any  discourse  with  them,  or 
even  call  them  by  their  names.  But  this  was  so 
far  from  any  show  of  lunacy,  that  his  actions  were 
regular  and  orderly^  and  nothing  appeared  in  his 
behaviour,  but  a  loving^  meek^  quiet^  easy  temper 
and  a  childish  innocence^  which  to  me  seemed  a  great 
indication  of  his  having  been  in  a  very  happy  frame 
of  spirit  at  the  time  when  he  was  surprised  with  this 
indisposition  ;  under  which  he  continued  (but  other- 
wise in  a  pretty  good  state  of  health)  till  the  month 
of  Jtily  17  8,  when  he  was  taken  wiih  a  fever,  of 
which  he  disrd  {not  at  the  Bath)^  but  at  his  own 
house  at  Rushcomb  in  Berkshire,  but  without  ever 
having  any  symptoms  of  ra^yng  or  madnesfi^  though 
the  same  is  wi  kedly  affirmed  by  this  false  witness 
Henry  Pickworth." 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  263 

The  second  was  as  follows  :  "  I  think  fit  to  ac- 
quaint the  world,  that  the  late  account  given  by 
Henry  Pickworth  concerning  my  worthy  master^ 
William  Penn,  is  notoriously  false.  I  had  the 
honour  to  wait  on  him  from  the  beginning  of  his 
last  indisposition,  which  was  a  palsie,  occasioned  by 
a  third  apoplectic  fit." 

By  his  last  will  made  in  1712,  a  few  months 
before  his  first  attack  by  apoplexy,  he  left  his  estates 
in  England  and  Ireland  to  William,  his  eldest  sur- 
viving son  by  Gulielma  Maria,  his  first  wife,  and  to 
the  issue  of  that  marriage,  which  then  consisted  of 
his  said  son  William,  his  daughter  Letitia  (married 
to  William  Aubrey),  and  three  children  of  his  son 
William  ;  namely,  Gulielma  Maria,  Springett,  and 
William.  The  Government  of  his  Province  of 
Pennsylvania  and  Territories  and  powers  thereunto 
belonging  he  devised  to  his  particular  friends, 
Robert  Harley,  Earl  of  Oxford,  and  Earl  Morti- 
mer ;  and  William,  Earl  Powlett ;  and  their  heirs, 
upon  trust,  to  dispose  thereof  to  the  Queen  or  any 
other  person  to  the  best  advantage  they  could,  to  be 
applied  in  such  manner  as  he  should  hereafter 
direct.  He  then  devised  to  his  wife  Hannah 
Penn,  together  with  eleven  others  and  to  their  heirs, 
all  his  lands,  rents,  and  other  profits  in  America, 
upon  trust,  to  dispose  of  so  much  thereof  as  should 
bv  suffident  to  discharge  all  his  debts,  and,  after 
pav  ment  thereof,  to  convey  to  his  daughter  Letitia, 
and  to  each  of  three  children  before  mentioned  of 
his  son  William,  ten  thousand  acres  of  land  (the 


264  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

forty  thousand  to  be  set  out  in  such  places  as  his 
trustees  should  think  fit)^  and  then  to  convey  all  the 
rest  of  his  landed  property  there,  subject  to  the  pay- 
ment of  three  hundred  pounds  a-year  to  his  wife  for 
her  natural  life,  to  and  amongst  his  children  by  her 
(John,  Thomas,  Margaret,  Richard,  and  Dennis, 
all  minors),  in  such  proportions  and  for  such  estates 
as  his  said  wife  should  think  fit.  All  his  personal 
estate  in  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere,  and  arrears  of 
rent  due  there,  he  devised  to  his  said  wife,  whom 
he  made  his  sole  executrix,  for  the  equal  benefit  of 
her  and  her  children. 

William  Penn  having  made  this  his  last  will  in 
1712,  and  afterwards  agreed,  as  before  related,  to 
part  with  the  Province  to  Government  for  12,000/.; 
a  question  arose  after  his  decease,  whether  what 
was  devised  to  the  said  Earls  to  be  sold,  should,  as 
then  circumstanced,  be  accounted  part  of  the  real  or 
of  the  personal  estate  of  the  testator  (the  latter  by 
the  will  being  the  property  of  the  widow)  ?  The  two 
Earls  in  consequence  declined  to  act  in  their  trust 
without  a  decree  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  for  their 
indemnity.  This  process,  together  with  other  diffi- 
culties that  had  arisen,  kept  the  property  of  the 
family  in  a  perplexing  state  of  uncertainty  for  about 
eight  or  nine  years.  At  length,  however,  all  the 
disputed  points  were  amicably  adjusted  by  the  re- 
spective parties  interested,  amongst  themselves, 
before  any  decree  had  issued ;  and  in  pursuance 
thereof  not  only  the  Province  itself  but  also  the 
Government  of  it  descended  to  John,  Thomas,  and 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  265^ 

Richard  Penn,  the  surviving  sons  of  the  younger 
branch  of  the  family,  thenceforward  the  Proprie- 
taries. " 

It  is  proper  to  remark,  that  when  William  Penn 
made  his  last  v/ill,  his  estates  in  England  and  Ire- 
land, which  produced  upwards  of  fifteen  hundred 
pounds  annually,  were  esteemed  of  more  value  than 
all  his  property  in  America,  especially  as  only  part 
of  the  mortgage  thereon  of  1708  had  been  dis- 
charged; but  during  the  interval  of  rather  more 
than  six  years  between  that  and  the  time  of  his 
death,  a  progressive  increase  of  trade  and  popula- 
tion, almost  unexampled,  during  a  happy  state  of 
uninterrupted  tranquillity,  had  improved  the  value 
of  the  Pennsylvanian  property  far  beyond  what 
could  have  been  imagined;  in  addition  to  which  the 
Crown-lawyers  had  given  a  joint  opinion,  which 
was  adopted  by  Government,  that  the  agreement 
for  sale  in  1712  was  made  void  by  William  Penn's 
inability  to  execute  the  surrender  in  a  proper 
manner. 


VOL.  II.  A  a 


266  MEMOIRS   OF   THE   LIFE 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Some  account  of  his  person — of  his  manner  and  ha- 
bits— and  of  his  private  character. 

Having  followed  William  Penn  from  the  cra- 
dle ^  to  the  grave,  I  shall  conclude  by  an  account  of 
his  person,  manners,  and  character,  as  far  as  I  have 
had  an  opportunity  of  tracing  them. 

It  appears  that  he  was  tall  in  stature  and  of  an 
athletic  make.  He  delighted  when  young,  as  has 
been  before  observed,  in  manly  sports.  In  maturer 
years  he  was  inclined  to  corpulency,  but  using  a 
great  deal  of  exercise  he  was  very  active  with  it. 
His  appearance  at  this  time  was  that  of  a  fine  portly 
man. 

We  have  no  portrait  taken  of  him  while  aliv^. 
Silvanus  Bevanf ,  a  chemist  of  eminence  in  London, 
who  when  young  had  known  him  well,  took  great 
pains  to  form  a  bust  of  him  some  time  after  his  de- 

*  I  take  this  opportunity  of  supplying  an  omission  made  at  the 
end  of  chap.  i.  vol.  i.,  where  I  ought  to  have  stated,  that  Wil- 
liam Penn  had  a  younger  brother,  Richard,  w^ho  died  at  Rick- 
mansworth,  and  was  buried  at  Wanstead  1673;  and  a  sister, 
Margaret,  who  married  Anthony  Lowther,  Esq.  of  Maske. 

t  He  was  in  high  repute  as  a  man  of  science  and  literature, 
and  possessed  a  talent  of  taking  striking  likenesses  from  recol- 
lection and  carving  them  in  ivory,  though  he  indulged  it  but  spa- 
ringly. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  267 

cease,  in  which  he  was  assisted  by  the  recollection 
of  others  familiarly  acquainted  with  him  ;  and  hav- 
ing made  three  copies  of  it,  he  sent  one  of  them  to 
James  Logan  of  Philadelphia.  The  engraving  pre- 
fixed to  Proud's  History  of  Pennsylvania  (an  Ame- 
rican publication)  is  taken  from  this  bust,  and  ena- 
bles us  to  have  a  tolerably  accurate  idea  of  his  per- 
son. There  appear  in  the  eye  deep  reflection  and 
strength  of  intellect,  and  in  the  mouth  a  sort  of  calm 
benignity.  The  face  is  not  an  usual  one  ;  and  there 
is  in  the  countenance  throughout  a  great  sweetness 
and  a  general  look  of  benevolent  feeling.  I  may 
observe  here,  that  a  statue  of  him  was  erected  at  the 
seat  of  the  late  Lord  Le  Despencer  near  High  Wy- 
comb.  On  the  alienation  of  the  estate  the  pedestal 
was  suffered  to  decay.  The  statue,  valued  then 
only  as  old  lead,  was  purchased  by  a  neighbouring 
plumber,  from  whom  one  of  the  proprietor's  grand- 
sons procuring  it,  presented  it  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Hospital  in  Philadelphia.  No  dependence,  how- 
ever, is  to  be  placed  on  this,  as  any  likeness  of  the 
person  it  professed  to  represent. 

William  Penn  v/as  very  neat,  though  plain,  in  his 
dress.  He  walked  generally  with  a  cane.  This 
eane  he  .was  accustomed  to  take  with  him  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  his  life  into  his  study,  where,  when  he 
dictated  to  an  amanuensis,  as  was  frequently  his 
practice,  he  would  take  it  in  his  hand,  and  walking 
up  and  down  the  room  would  mark,  by  striking  it 
against  the  floor,  the  emphasis  on  points  which  he 
wished  particularly  to  be  noticed. 


368  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

He  was  very  neat  also  as  to  his  person,  and  had 
a  great  aversion  to  the  use  of  tobacco.     However, 
when  he  w^as  in  America  he  was  often  annoyed  by 
it,  but  he  bore  it  with  good  humour.     We  have  an 
anecdote  of  him  there,  as  it  relates  to  this  custom. 
Several  of  his  particular  Friends  were  one  day  as- 
sembled at  Burlington.     While  they  were  smoking 
their  pipes,  it  was  announced  to  them,  that  the  Go- 
vernor's barge  was  in  sight  and  coming  up  the  river. 
The  company  supposed  that  he  was  on  his  way  to 
Pennsbury,  about  seven   miles  higher  up.     They 
continued  smoking  :  but  being  afterwards  informed, 
that  he  had  landed  at  a  wharf  near  them  and  was 
just  entering  the  house,  they  suddenly  concealed 
their  pipes.     Perceiving  from  the  smoke,  when  he 
went  into  the  room,  what  they  had  been  doing,  and 
discovering  that  the  pipes  had  been  hid,  he  said  very 
pleasantly,  "  Well,  Friends,  I  am  glad  that  you  are 
at  last  ashamed  of  your  old  practice."——"  Not  en- 
tirely so,"   replied  Samuel  Jenings,  one  of  the  com- 
pany, "  but  we  preferred  laying  down  our  pipes  to 
the  danger  of  offending  a  weak  brother."     They 
then  expressed  their  surprise  at  this  abrupt  visit,  as 
in  his  passage  from  Philadelphia  not  only  the  tide 
but  the  wind  had  been  furiously  against  him.     He 
replied  with  a  smile  on  his  countenance,  "  that  he 
had  been  sailing  against  wind  and  tide  all  his  life." 

Having  a  great  variety  of  business  to  go  through, 
he  was  obliged  to  be  an  (Economist  of  his  time.  He 
was  therefore  regular  and  tnethodical  in  his  move- 
ments.    This  regularity  and  method  he  carried  into 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  269 

his  family,  and  this  not  only  in  their  temporal  but 
their  spiritual  concerns.  It  appears  by  a  paper 
which  he  wrote,  and  which  was  probably  stuck  up 
in  some  conspicuous  place  in  his  house,  and  which 
contained  "  Christian  Discipline  ;  or,  Good  and 
wholesome  Orders  for  the  well  governing  of  his 
Family,"  that  in  that  quarter  of  the  year  which  in- 
cluded part  of  the  winter  and  part  of  the  spring,  the 
members  of  it  were  to  rise  at  seven  in  the  morning, 
in  the  next  at  six,  in  the  next  at  five,  and  in  the  last 
at  six  again.  Nine  o'clock  was  the  hour  for  break- 
fast, twelve  for  dinner,  seven  for  supper,  and  ten  to 
retire  to  bed.  The  whole  family  were  to  assemble 
every  morning  for  worship.  They  were  to  be  call- 
ed together  at  eleven  again,  that  each  might  read  in 
turn  some  portion  of  the  holy  Scripture,  or  of  Mar- 
tyrology,  or  of  Friends'  books  ;  and  finally  they  were 
to  meet  again  for  w^orship  at  six  in  the  evening.  On 
the  days  of  public  meeting,  no  one  was  to  be  absent 
except  on  the  plea  of  health  or  of  unavoidable  en- 
gagement. The  servants  were  to  be  called  up  after 
supper  to  render  to  their  master  and  mistress  an  ac- 
count of  what  they  had  done  in  the  day,  and  to  re- 
ceive instructions  for  the  next.  The  same  paper 
laid  down  rules  for  their  guidance.  They  were  to 
avoid  loud  discourse  and  troublesome  noises  ;  they 
were  not  to  absent  themselves  without  leave ;  they 
were  not  to  go  to  any  public-house  but  upon  busi- 
ness ;  and  they  were  not  to  loiter,  or  enter  into  un- 
profitable talk,  while  on  an  errand.  It  contained 
also  exhortations  to  them,  to  be  upriglit  and  faithful 
A  a2 


270  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

to  their  employers,  and,  though  each  had  a  particu- 
lar service,  to  be  willing,  all  of  them,  to  assist  each 
other  as  it  became  brethren  and  fellow-servants. 
And  lastly,  it  contained  one  general  exhortation  to 
all :  every  member  of  the  family  was  instructed  to 
keep  a  watch  over  his  mind,  to  beware  of  lying,  de- 
frauding, tale-bearing,  and  other  vicious  practices 
there  specified  ;  to  abstain  from  words  which  would 
provoke  lightness,  and  from  giving  each  other  bad 
names  ;  and  in  case  of  difference,  not  to  let  the  sun 
go  down  upon  their  wrath. 

William  Penn  is  said  to  have  possessed  fine  ta- 
lents. Sir  John  Rhodes,  who  was  very  intimate 
with  him,  and  who  wrote  the  preface  to  his  posthu- 
mous work,  called  "  Fruits  of  a  Father's  Love,  be- 
ing the  Advice  of  William  Penn  to  his  Children  re- 
lating to  their  civil  and  religious  Conduct,"  says, 
tfiat  he  was  qualified  for  a  high  station  in  life  by 
very  bright  and  excellent  parts,  and  these  cultivated 
and  improved  by  the  advantage  of  a  liberal  educa- 
tion, and  also  polished  by  travelling  abroad,  and  by 
conversation  with  some  of  the  greatest  men  the  age 
produced.  Of  these  his  father  was  very  sensible  ; 
which  gave  him  so  shocking  a  concern,  when  his 
son  espoused  the  principles  of  the  despised  Qua- 
kers, that  it  threw  him  into  violent  agonies,  so  that, 
as  William  Penn  himself  told  Sir  John  Rhodes,  his 
father  was  in  bitterness  for  him  as  a  man  is  in  bit- 
te;rness  for  his  first-born. 

William  Penn  was  indefatigable  as  a  minister  o£ 
the  Gospel.     It  is  also  said  of  him  that,  though  he 


OF    V/ILLIAM    PEKN*  271 

was  a  learned  man,  he  used,  while  preaching,  lan- 
guage the  most  simple  and  easy  to  be  understood, 
aij^d  that  he  had  a  happy  way  of  explaining  himself 
by  images  the  most  familiar.  He  was  of  such  hu- 
mility, that  he  used  generally  to  sit  at  the  lowest 
end  of  the  space  allotted  to  ministers,  always  taking 
care  to  place  above  himself  poor  ministers,  and 
those  who  appeared  to  him  to  be  peculiarly  gifted. 
He  was  alsot  no  less  remarkable  for  encouraging 
those  who  were  young  in  the  ministry.  Thomas 
Story,  among  many  others,  witnessed  this.  '^  1  had 
no  courage,"  says  he,  "  of  my  own  to  appear  in 
public  among  them  (the  ministers).  1  thought  how- 
ever (on  seeing  Aaron  Atkinson's  ministry  accept- 
able) that  I  might  also  probably  go  through  the 
meetings  without  offence,  which  was  the  full  amount 
of  my  expectation  or  desire  there  ;  and  that  which 
added  much  to  my  encouragement  was.  the  fatherly 
care  and  behaviour  of  the  ministers  in  general,  but 
especially  of  that  great  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and 
faithful  servant  of  Christ,  William  Penn,  who 
abounded  in  wisdom,  discretion,  prudence,  love, 
and  tenderness  of  affection,  with  all  sincerity,  above 
most  in  this  generation  ;  and  indeed  I  never  knew 
his  equal." 

He  is  handed  down,  by  those  who  knew  him,  to 
have  been  very  pleasant  and  strikingly  animated  in 
conversation.  He  had  rather  a  disposition  to  face- 
tiousness,  clothed  however  in  the  purest  habit  of 
decorum.  We  have  no  testimony  against  this  but 
that  of  Bishop  Burnet,  who  says  *•  that  he  was  a 


^72  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

talking  vain  man.  He.  had  such  an  opinion  of  his 
own  faciihy  of  persuading,  that  he  thought  none 
could  stand  before  it,  though  he  was  singular  in  thiit 
opinion  ;  for  he  had  a  tedious  luscious  way  of  talk- 
ing, not  apt  to  overcome  a  man's  reason,  though  it 
might  tire  his  patjence."  It  is  perhaps  hardly  worth 
while  to  refute  a^tatement  which  affects  so  little  the 
moral  character  ;  and  yet  truth  is  always  to  be  pre- 
ferred and  defended.  Leaving  then  out  of  the  ques- 
tion the  oral  testimony  of  those  who  knew  him  well, 
I  may  observe,  that  it  is  recorded  in  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  (A.  1737)  that  a  person  once  tra- 
vell'  d  with  William  Penn  in  a  stage-coach,  '^  and  a 
pka.sant  companion  he  ruas,^^  This  person  was  so 
struck  by  it,  as  to  ask  him,  seeing  the  Society  de- 
spised human  learning,  where  he  and  Barclay  and 
Keith  received  their  education.  I  may  mention  also, 
that  Dr.  Tillotson  concluded  one  of  his  letters  to 
William  Penn  in  these  words  :  "  I  will  seek  the  first 
opportunity  to  visit  you  at  Charing-cross,  and  renew 
our  acquaintance,  inxvhich  I  took  much  pleasure. '^'^ 
Surely  Dr.  Tillotson,  one  of  jhe  most  accomplished 
and^olite  scholars  of  his  age,  and  a  serious  Chris- 
tian, could  never  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  the 
conversation  of  a  talking  vain  man,  or  of  one  who 
had  a  tedious  way  of  talking.  Again,  if  we  look 
into  Noble's  Continuation  of  Granger,  we  shall  find 
that  Dean  Swift  asserted,  that  ''  Penn  talked  very 
agreeably  mid  with  yjtuch  sphrit.'^  Now  we  know 
that  Dean  Swift  irequently  met  him  in  company 
with  great  people,  and  that  he  knew  him  so  well,  ^s 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  27^ 

in  one  of  his  letters  to  Mrs.  Johnson  to  call  him 
his  friend  Penn.  But  Burnet  himself  was  not  a 
shrewder  man  than  Swift,  nor  better  capable  of 
judging  upon  a  question  like  that  before  us. 

He  W2LS  a  man  of  great  sensibility.  Those  who 
knew  him  have  seen  the  tear  start  in  his  eye  at  the 
relation  of  tales  of  wretchedness,  and,  what  is  more 
remarkable,  at  the  relation  of  acts  of  peculiar  kind- 
ness to  those  who  needed  it.  An  instance  of  the  lat- 
ter nature  is  recorded  by  John  Richardson  in  his 
Journal,  but  it  is  too  long  to  detail  throughout.  It 
appears  there  that  John  Richardson  and  James 
Bates,  two  Quaker  ministers,  w  ho  were  on  a  reli* 
gious  mission,  landed  from  a  sloop  at  Bermuda  in 
1702.  They  were  immediately  ordered  up  to  the 
Government-house.  The  sea-'sickness  was  still  upon 
them,  and  they  were  shivering  ?nd  faint.  In  this 
state  they  were  ushered  into  the  Governor'^  pre- 
sence. Here  they  expected  nothing  but  rough 
usage,  if  not  a  prison  ;  but  instead  of  these  they 
experienced  every  thing  that  was  hospitable  and 
humane.  The  Governor  (Bennett)  not  only  gave 
them  refreshment,  and  entered  into  friendly  conver- 
sation with  them  relative  to  their  religious  tenets, 
but,  finding  them  in  a  weakly  state,  lent  them  his 
own  horses  to  ride^upon  as  far  as  an  inlet  of  water, 
which  they  were  to  cross.  Here  Judge  Stafford, 
perceiving  two  strangers,  sent  his  boat  for  them. 
He  received  them  into  his  own  house,  where  he  re- 
freshed them  and  lodged  them  also.  The  next  day 
he  accommodated  them  with  horses  in  like  manner 


274  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    LIFE 

to  enable  them  to  pursue  their  mission  on  the  island. 
I  may  now  observe,  that  John  Richardson  was  af- 
terwards with  William  Penn,  and  that  he  told  him 
these  and  other  particulars  connected  with  the  tale 
as  they  occurred,  and  that  William  Penn  was  greatly 
affected  by  the  narration  ;  for  ^'  when,"  says  John 
Richardson,  "  I  told  William  Penn  how  it  had  fared 
xvith  us  on  that  island^  and  especially  the  kindness  of 
the  txvo  chief  men  in  power  there^  he  xvept^"^ 

William  Penn  was  equalled  by  few  in  his  atten- 
tion to  the  poor,  or  in  his  attention  to  others,  of 
whatever  class  in  life  or  religious  description,  who 
lived  in  his  own  neighbourhood  ;  so  that  perhaps  no 
man  was  ever  more  popular  within  these  limits. 
His  memory  on  this  account  was  held  dear,  both  at 
Rickmansworth  and  Worminghurst,  long  after  he 
had  left  these  places  ;  and  so  dear  was  it  on  the 
sam&  Recount  at  Rushcomb,  the  last  place  of  his  re- 
sidence, that  his  name  at  entire  length,  and  com- 
pound names  alluding  to  his  American  possessions, 
appear  in  the  Parish  Register  as  having  been  given 
by  parents  in  the  neighbourhood  to  their  children, 
in  honour  of  the  memory  of  his  worth. 

There  is  another  anecdote  I  may  mention,  which, 
though  trifling  in  itself,  will  afford  us  another  view 
of  his  character.  In  the  year  1690  '^  An  History 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament"  came  out,  "  trans- 
lated from  the  Works  of  the  learned  Le  Sieur  de 
Royaumont,  by  Joseph  Raynor,  B.  D.  and  super- 
vised by  Dr.  Anthony  Horneck,  Henry  Wharton, 
B.  D.  and  others."     It  contained  two  hundred  and 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  2Yd 

sixty  plates  or  engravings,  wliich  represented  cer- 
tain transactions,  parables,  or  histories,  as  recorded 
in  the  Scriptures.  Each  plate,  that  is,  the  design 
and  the  expense  of  engraving  it,  was  furnished  by 
some  person  of  quality  or  eminence,  to  whom  it  was 
addressed.  King  William  and  Queen  Mary  each 
presented  one  to  the  work.  Among  other  contribu- 
tors to  it  was  William  Penn.  The  subject  of  the 
plate  which  he  gave  was  the  Parable  of  the  Talents. 
The  rich  man  appeared  sitting  with  his  steward  and 
others  at  a  large  table,  where  there  was  pen,  ink, 
and  scrolls  of  paper.  Two  of  those  who  had  re- 
ceived the  talents  stood  near  the  table.  He  who  had 
received  the  largest  share  had  laid  his  five  bags 
upon  it.  These  the  steward  had  examined,  and  he 
was  then  entering  the  amount  of  them  in  a  book. 
He  who  had  received  the  two  talents  was  seen 
standing  with  his  two  bags  in  his  hand,  ready  to  lay 
them  on  the  table  when  called  upon  and  to  deliver 
his  account.  He  who  had  received  but  one  was 
seen  kneeling  with  one  knee,  and  with  his  bag  also 
near  him,  on  the  ground,  and  lifting  iap  his  hands 
and  imploring  mercy.  At  a  little  distance  appeared 
the  hole  in  the  ground,  from  which  the  bag  had  been 
taken  ;  close  to  which  were  lying  the  pick-axe  and 
spade  which  had  been  used  in  digging  it  up.  Such 
was  the  nature  of  the  plate  furnished  by  William 
Penn.  We  may  collect  from  it,  that  though  per- 
haps, like  others  of  his  own  religious  Society,  he 
was  no  great  encourager  of  the  arts,  yet  he  availed 
himself  of  the  opportunity  of  promoting  them  where 


276  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LITE 

they  could  be  made  subservient  to  religion,  or  ra- 
ther ?:hat  he  omitted  no  innocent  opportunity  of  pro- 
moting the  cause  of  the  latter.  We  collect  again, 
where  his  mind  was  most  conversant,  or  where  it 
delighted  most  to  be  employed,  namely,  in  enlarg- 
ing the  empire  of  moral  good.  He  might  have 
handed  to  the  Artist  a  fine  subject  for  his  pencil,  or 
a  subject  for  the  indulgence  of  his  own  curiosity,  or 
the  display  of  his  own  taste  j  but  he  chose  that 
which,  by  means  of  the^  engraving  in  question, 
should  inculcate  the  most  important  lesson  that 
Christianity  teaches  mankind,  namelv,  the  duty  of 
employing  their  talents  to  the  utmost  for  the  benefit 
of  each  other,  and  the  sin  of  the  omission.  I  may 
observe,  that  no  man  inculcated  this  lesson  more 
frequently  by  his  own  practice  than  himself. 

These  few  anecdotes  relating  to  William  Penn, 
received  chiefly  from  persons  who  had  them  from 
others  personally  acquainted  with  him,  or  to  be 
found  in  scarce  books,  I  have  thought  it  proper  to 
bring  forward,  because,  being  contained  in  no  other 
History  of 'his  Life,  they  must  be  new  to  most 
readers.  As  to  the  other  component  parts  of  his 
character,  they  may  be  gathered  from  the  preceding 
sheets  of  this  work.  It  may  be  deduced  from  these, 
that  he  was  a  kind  Husband,  a  tender  Father,  a 
noble  Patriot,  and  a  good  Man.  But  as  they  who 
read  may  collect  these  and  other  estimable  traits  for 
themselves,  it  seems  unnecessary  that  I  should  do  it 
for  them.  I  will  therefore  avail  myself  but  of  one 
statement  which  these  Memoirs  afford  me,  as  the 


OF  WitLIAM    PENN.  %17 

admission  of  it  will  fix  his  character  at  once.  He 
seems  then,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  to  have 
been  daily  conversant  with  the  Divine  Being,  daily 
worshipping  and  praising  him,  either  in  his  own  pri- 
vate, or  in  his  family,  or  in  his  public  devotions, 
and  daily  walking  with  him  in  his  multifarious  con- 
cerns. All  his  publications,  nay,  almost  every  let- 
ter, whether  public  or  private,  l^reathes  a  spirit  of 
piety  and  reliance  upon  God.  Hence  he  must  have 
been  lowly-minded,  merciful,  and  just.  Hence 
under  disappointment  he  must  have  been  patient, 
under  persecution  forgiving.  And  here  let  me  ob- 
serve, that,  though  his  life  was  a  scene  of  trial  and 
suffering,  he  must  have  had  intervals  of  comfort  and 
happiness  the  most  solid  and  brilliant,  one  ray  from 
the  Divine  Presence  dissipating  whole  clouds  of 
affliction  around  him.  What  other  amiable  traits 
must  there  not  have  been  in  the  character  of  one 
who  walked  in  such  an  heavenly  path  ! 


VOL.  \u  B  b 


278  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 


CHAPTER  XX. 

^Exayninatwn  of  the  outcry  against  him  of  "  Papist 
and  Jesuit'^^ — of  the  charges  against  him  by  Bur- 
net— and  of  those  contained  in  the  State  Papers  of 
Nairne — and  in  the  insinuatioJis  of  Lord  Lyttel- 
ton — and  Dr.  Franklin. 

I  BELIEVE  it  may  be  said,  with  no  small  degree 
of  truth,  that  few  men  of  character  ever  experienced 
such  a  continued  outcry  against  them,  while  living, 
as  William  Penn  ;  that  few  men  of  character  ever 
had  their  posthumous  fame  so  tarnished,  and  this 
by  persons  of  high  reputation  in  the  world ;  and  that 
few  men,  after  all  the  imputations  against  them  had 
been  allowed  to  wander  free  and  uncontrolled,  ever 
triumphed  more  in  the  estimation  of  posterity;  I 
mean  the  posterity  of  the  present  day. 

But  though  by  means  of  his  great  and  public  ac- 
tions founded  in  virtue,  (for  no  other  foundation 
had  availed,)  some  reputed  objectionable  transac- 
tions of  his  private  life  have  been  so  far  eclipsed, 
that  the  former  are  now  only  generally  conspicuous, 
it  does  not  follow  that  we  ought  to  overlook  the  lat- 
ter. It  is  but  justice  to  the  memory  of  William 
Penn  to  inquire,  whether  they  existed  at  all.  The 
presumption  is,  from  what  we  have  seen  of  his  cha- 
racter, that  they  could  have  had  no  foundation  in 
fact.     But  if  they  did  not  exist,  then  his  history 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  279 

ought  not  to  be  sullied  by  the  continuation  of  such 
mischievous  errors. 

The  first  of  the  imputations  against  him  consists 
in  that  hue  and  cry,  as  it  Avere,  which  accompanied 
him  through  a  great  part  of  his  life,  both  in  clamour 
and  in  print,  that  he  was  a  Papiat  and  a  Jesuit.  I 
do  not  mean  by  this,  that,  had  he  been  either  the 
one  or  the  other,  he  had  therefore  been  an  unworthy 
person  ;  but  I  must  say,  that  if  he  had  been  a  Papist, 
when  he  professed  himself  a  Quaker,  he  would  have 
been  justly  chargeable  with  hypocrisy;  and  it  is  on 
this  account  that  I  am  at  all  induced  to  notice  the 
chaifge  against  him.  Let  us  then  see  what  evidence 
he  has  furnished  himself,  (for  we  need  go  to  no 
other,)  and  this  through  an  uninterrupted  chain  for 
years,  on  the  subject. 

In  the  year  1668,  in  his  work  called  "  Truth  Ex- 
alted," he  considers  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  as 
one  of  those  "  which  had  been  formed  and  followed 
in  the  darkness  of  apostacy."  Again  :  "  Whence," 
says  he  in  the  same  work,  ''  came  your  Creeds  but 
from  factious  and  corrupted  Councils  dyed  in  the 
blood  of  those  who  refused  conformity?  What 
Scriptures  of  the  holy  Prophets  and  Apostles,  or 
what  Tradition  for  the  first  three  hundred  years, 
mention  a  Mass-book,  speak  of  Peter's  Chair  and  a 
successive  Infallibility,  or  say  a  Wafer  is  corporally 
the  Flesh,  Blood,  and  Bones,  which  suffered  without 
Jerusalem  ?  And  where  did  they  teach  to  adore 
Images,  appoint  holy  Days,  canonize  Saints,  chaffer 


280  MEMOIRS   ©F   THE    LIFE 

and  merchandize  about  Indulgences,  pray  foi 
the  Dead,  and  preach  or  write  for  a  Purgato- 
ry?" 

In  1670  he  attempted  to  refute,  in  his  "  Seasona- 
ble Caveat  against  Popery,"  certain  Doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  as  they  related  to  the  Scriptures—^ 
Prayers  to  Saints  and  Angels — Justification  of  Me- 
rits— Prayer  in  Latin — and  other  Doctrines  and 
Customs  belonging  to  it. 

In  1675  he  wrote  "  A  Letter  to  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic," in  which  we  may  notice  this  passage  :  "  They 
are  Christ's  who  take  up  his  cross  against  the  glory 
and  spirit  of  this  world,  in  which  the  Church  of 
Rome  lives.  Behold  the  pride,  luxury,  and  cruelty, 
which  hath  for  ages  been  in  that  Church,  even  the 
Heads  and  Chieftains  thereof.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
think  that  to  be  Christ's  Church,  which  has  lost  its 
heavenly  qualifications,  because  it  once  was.  What 
is  become  of  Antioch,  and  Jerusalem,  both  Churches 
of  Christ,  and  before  Rome  ?" 

In  1678  he  made  two  speeches  before  a  Commit- 
tee of  the  House  of  Commons.  In  the  latter  of 
these  he  speaks  thus  :  "  I  solemnly  declare  in  the 
presence  of  Almighty  God  and  before  you  all,  that 
the  profession  I  now  make  and  the  Society  I  now 
adhere  to  have  been  so  far  from  altering  that  Pro- 
testant judgment  I  had,  that  I  am  not  conscious  to 
myself  of  having  receded  from  an  iota  of  any  one 
principle  maintained  by  those  first  Protestants  and 
Reformers  of  Germanv,  and  our  Martyrs  at  home. 


OF    WILLIAM   PEN2S.  281 

Against  the  Pope  and  See  of  Rome,''  And  further 
on  in  the  same  speech  he  says,  ''  We  think  it  hard, 
that  though  we  (Quakers)  do  deny  in  comnion  with 
her  (the  Church  of  England)  those  doctrines  of 
Rome  so  zealously  protested  against  (from  whence 
the  name  Protestants),  yet  that  we  should  be  so  un- 
happy as  to  suffer,  and  that  with  extreme  severity, 
by  those  very  laws  on  purpose  made  against  the 
maintainers  of  those  doctrines  which  we  do  so 
deny." 

In  1679  he  wrote  "  England's  great  Interest  in 
the  choice  of  a  new  Parliament."  To  promote  this 
interest  he  recommends,  among  other  things,  "  that 
care  be  taken  that  we  be  secured  from  Popery  and 
slavery,  and  that  at  the  ensuing  election  only  sincere 
Protestants  should  be  chosen."  In  the  same  year 
he  published  "  One  Project  for  the  Good  of  Eng- 
land," in  which  he  recommended  a  certain  public 
Declaration,  as  a  mark  of  discrimination,  by  which 
all  Protestant  Drssenters  might  be  enabled  to  prove 
that  they  were  not  Catholics.  This  Declaration, 
which  he  drew  up  himself,  denied  the  Pope's  right 
to  depose  any  Sovereign,  or  absolve  the  subjects  of 
such  Sovereign  from  their  allegiance.  It  denied 
him  to  be  Christ's  vicar.  It  denied  a  purgatory 
after  death,  transubstantiation  in  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, and  the  lawfulness  and  efficacy  of  prayers  to 
Saints  and  Images. 

Now  if  to  these  considerations  we  add  the  con- 
tents of  that  part  of  his  letter  to  Dr.  Tillotson  in 
1685,  in  which  he  refers  the  latter  to  other  of  his 
Bb2 


282  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

publications,  (such  as  his  "  Address  to  Protestants," 
and  to  the  first  four  chapters  of  his  "  No  Cross,  No 
Crown,")  and  also  to  his  letter  to  Mr.  Popple  in 
1688,  in  which  he  solemnly  denies  every  individual 
circumstance  brought  forward  to  establish  the  charge 
against  him,  and  solemnly  declares  himself  a  Pro- 
testant, there  will  not  remain  the  shadow  of  a  doubt, 
that  there  could  ever  have  been  any  real  foundation 
for  the  clamour  of  his  predilection  for  Popery, 
which  occasioned  him  to  be  so  unpopular  in  the 
kingdom.  Indeed  the  bare  comparison  (to  use  his 
own  words  to  Dr.  Tillotson)  of  ''  the  most  incere- 
monious  and  unworldly  way  of  worship"  of  the  Qua- 
kers with  the  ''  pompous  cult  of  the  Catholics," 
would  of  itself  afford  an  argument  decisive  of  the 
point,  unless  we  can  suppose  that  William  Penn 
dared,  for  some  purpose  not  yet  discovered,  to  act 
the  part  of  a  hypocrite,  and  this  daily  at  the  altar  as 
it  were  of  God,  during  a  life  accompanied  by  those 
outward  circumstances,  which  are  usually  consider- 
ed by  the  world  as  marks  of  superior  purity  and 
worth. 

With  respect  to  the  charge  of  his  having  been 
educated  at  St.  Omer's  as  a  Jesuit^  I  might  say,  as 
he  has  said  himself,  that  he  xvas  never  at  St.  Omer'^s 
in  Ins  life  ;  but  as  the  matter  is  so  easily  unravelled, 
it  becomes  me  to  do  it.  And  here  I  may  observe, 
that  in  all  charges,  whether  against  public  or  private 
men,  there  is  always  a  something  which  has  given 
birth  to  them  :  there  is  usually  a  foundation  for 
them,  though  not  always  a  good  one.     So  in  the 


OF    WILLIAM    TENN.  28o 

present  case.  William  Penn,  when  he  was  sent  to 
Paris  by  his  father,  left  it,  as  has  been  before  men- 
tioned, to  reside  for  a  while  at  an  academy  at  Sail- 
miir^  kept  by  Moses  Amyrault,  one  of  the  greatest 
Protestant  divines  of  the  age.  Now  this  circum- 
stance was  reported  in  England,  and  unfortunately 
some  one  of  those,  who  heard  it  mentioned,  con- 
founded Saumur  with  St*  Omer.  Of  this  mistake 
his  enemies  immediately  availed  themselves,  and, 
there  being  then  at  the  latter  i)lace  a  College  for 
Jesuits,  they  directly  inferred  that  he  was  one  of 
that  order. 

Among  the  writers  who  have  thought  disrespect- 
fully of  William  Pemi^  or  who  have  related  matters 
which  implicate  his  moral  character,  the  first  in  or- 
der of  time  is  the  celebrated  Bishop  Burnet.  And 
here  I  cannot  help  lamenting,  hovv,  on  account  of 
the  infirmity  of  our  nature,  the  best  men  are  often 
warped  by  prejudices,  so  as  to  throw  a  shade  upon 
actions  capable  of  bearing  the  full  light.  Bishop 
Burnet,  as  we  have  seen  in  these  Memoirs,  was  at 
the  Hague  and  in  company  with  William  Penn, 
when  the  latter  was  endeavouring  to  prevail  upon 
the  Prince  of  Orange  to  join  with  King  James  in 
the  abolition  of  Tests  for  religion  in  the  British 
realms.  In  consequence  of  this  attempt  Burnet 
took  a  prejudice  against  him  ;  and  coupling  with 
this  circumstance  the  outcry  of  Papist  and  Jesuit^ 
which  induced  him  to  suppose  Penn  a  Roman  Ca- 
tholic, the  prejudice  was  only  the  more  confirmed, 
and  it  was  carried  by    him    through   his    whole 


284  MEMOIRS   OF    THE    LIFE 

work  of  "  The  History  of  his  own  Times,"  so  that 
he  has  given  us  there  almost  all  that  was  cur- 
rent against  William  Penn  ;  but  in  no  one  part  of 
it  that  I  have  read  has  he  ever  spoken  well  of  him^ 
even  once*  Of  this  prejudice  the  first  extract  I  am 
to  make  will  be  in  the  minds  of  many  not  a  despica- 
ble proof. 

"  Perin/'  says  he,  "  had  engaged  him  (Steward) 
to  come  over  (from  Holland),  for  he  had  long  been 
considered  by  the  King  (James)  as  the  chief  mana- 
ger of  all  the  rebellions  and  plots  that  had  been  on 
foot  for  these  twenty  years  past."  This  was  in 
1688.  Now  supposing  Steward  had  been  thus  en- 
gaged by  Penn,  for  what  was  he  so  employed?  Not 
to  dethrone  Kings,  as  one  would  naturally  suppose 
from  these  expressions,  not  to  stir  up  the  flames  of 
civii-war,  but  to  promote,  by  Burnet's  own  confes- 
sion, religious  liberty  in  Scotland  by  the  abolition  of 
Tests,  This  was  the  mighty  crime.  I  do  think 
therefore,  that  the  observation  ''  that  Steward  had 
been  considered  hy  the  King  as  the  chief  manager  of 
all  the  rebellions  and  plots  that  had  been  on  foot  for 
these  txventy  years  past^'*  might  have  been  spared 
on  this  occasion,  even  if  it  had  been  true.  I  have 
now  to  observe,  that  when  this  same  Steward,  or 
rather  Steuart,  was  a  fugitive  in  Holland  with  his 
brother  Sir  Robert,  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
volume  of  this  work,  he  was  there  in  that  situation, 
not  because  he  had  done  any  thing  in  the  way  of 
plot  or  conspiracy  at  home,  but  because,  having  re- 
fused to  renounce  the  Covenant  when  required^  and 


OF   WILLIAM   PENN.  285 

being  persecuted  on  account  of  his  religion^  he  deter- 
mined to  seek  an  asyluna  in  foreign  parts. 

I  pass  by  the  account  given  by  Burnet  for  the 
same  year,  without  any  comment,  in  which  he  says 
"  that  Father  Petre  and  Penn  engaged  the  King  to 
it,"  that  is,  to  renew  the  Declaration  for  liberty  of 
conscience  and  to  hold  a  Parliament  in  the  Novem- 
ber following,  and  come  to  a  matter  of  a  very  seri- 
ous nature.  Speaking  of  the  year  1690  he  says, 
**  The  men  that  laid  this  design  were  the  Earl  of 
Clarendon,  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  the  Lord  Preston 
and  his  brother  Mr.  Graham,  and  Penn  the  famous 
Quaker."  The  design  he  informs  us  was  to  restore 
James.  For  this  purpose  Lord  Preston  was  to  go 
over  to  France  to  negotiate  for  military  aid.  One 
Ashton  hired  the  vessel,  and  he  and  Lord  Preston 
went  on  board  in  order  to  sail  over :  but  informa- 
tion having  been  given  of  the  plot,  they  were  seized 
with  their  papers,  which  consisted  of  letters  to 
James  from  those  who  had  joined  with  Lord 
Preston  in  the  design.  The  Bishop  of  Ely's  letters 
were  written  in  a  very  particular  style.  Others 
were  in  Lord  Preston's,  and  others  in  Ashton's, 
own  hand- writing.  The  trial  of  the  two  latter  com- 
menced, and  both  of  them  were  condemned,  and 
Ashton  suffered.  As  to  the  other  conspirators  he 
observes,  "  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  was  seized  and 
put  into  the  Tower ;  but  the  Bishop  of  Ely, 
Graham,  and  Penn,  absconded." 

Now  here  are  two  charges  against  William 
Penn  :  first,  that  he  assisted  in  laying  the  design  ; 


286  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LI^E 

and,  secondly,  when  some  who  had  been  concerned 
in  it  were  convicted,  that  he  absconded.  With 
respect  to  the  first,  had  Burnet  said  that  the  names 
ef  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  Penn,  and  Graham,  were 
inserted  in  a  Proclamation,  dated  February  the 
fifth,  soon  after  the  execution  of  Ashton,  07i  sus- 
picion of  having  been  concerned  in  the  design,  the 
assertion  would  have  been  free  from  error.  But  it 
did  not  follow,  because  William  Penn  was  suspected^ 
that  he  was  therefore  guilty.  It  may  be  remember- 
ed, that  in  the  early  part  of  the  former  year  he  had 
been  called  before  the  King  and  Council,  being  then 
suspected  of  a  traitorous  correspondence  on  account 
of  an  intercepted  letter,  which  James  had  written 
him.  His  reply  was,  "  that  he  could  not  help  the 
King  writing  to  him,  if  he,  the  King,  chose  so  to 
do;  and  among  other  things,  that  though  he  could 
not  avoid  the  suspicion  of  such  a  correspondence, 
he  could  avoid  the  guilt  of  it ;  that  he  was  willing 
to  repay  King  James's  kindness  to  him  by  any 
private  service  in  his  power  ;  but  that  he  must  ob- 
serve inviolably  and  entirely  that  duty  to  the  State, 
'  which  belonged  to  all  the  subjects  of  it ;  and  there- 
fore that  he  had  never  had  the  wickedness  to  think 
of  endeavouring  to  restore  him  to  the  Crown." 
This  assertion  was  found  afterwards  to  be  true ;  for 
he  was  tried,  and  honourably  acquitted  of  the 
charge.  It  may  be  remembered  also,  that  in  two 
months  after  this  he  was  apprehended  again ;  but  he 
could  not  help  the  suspicion,  which  led  to  this  new 
apprehension,  though  a  second  trial  showed  that  he 


OF    WILLIAM     PENN.  287 

had  no  concern  in  the  guilt.  So  in  like  manner  he 
could  not  hinder  Fuller  from  backing  the  accusation 
of  Lord  Preston,  which  was  to  save  his  own  life^ 
though  he  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the  plot.  Not 
only  was  no  letter  found  written  by  him,  nor  any 
letter  which  even  mentioned  his  name,  among  the 
many  papers  discovered,  but  he  made  it  appear  to 
the  King  and  Council  in  1693,  that  he  never  had 
been  concerned  in  this  or  in  any  other  attempt  of  the 
kind;  the  immediate  result  of  which  was,  his  acquit- 
tal of  the  charge  which  had  been  brought  against 
him. 

With  respect  to  the  other  charge,  that  of  abscond- 
ing, it  was  not  true,  either  in  the  sense  of  the  word, 
or  the  manner  in  which  it  was  used  j  for  abscond- 
ing implies  flight  or  concealment  on  account  of 
guilt ;  and  when  the  term  is  thus  used  by  Burnet, 
and  the  name  of  William  Penn  is  no  more  to  be 
found  in  his  work,  the  reader  is  led  to  imagine  that 
he  was  no  more  heard  of,  and  therefore  that  the 
guilt  followed  him.  But  how  happens  it,  if  he  fa^pi 
been  guilty  and  had  absconded,  that  he  xvas  acquitted 
in  1693  ;  that  his  Government  was  restored  to  him  in 
1694;  that  from  1694  to  1699  he  was  travelling 
publicly  both  in  England  and  Ireland  as  a  minister 
of  the  Gospel;  that  from  1699  to  nearly  1702  he 
xvas  acting  on  the  spot  in  the  high  and  conspicuous 
character  of  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  ;  that  in  the 
latter  year  he  was  at  the  Court  of  S>ueen  Anne;  and 
that  after  this  period  he  enjoyed  her  personal  friend- 
ship P   It  was  surely  the  duty  of  Burnet,  when  his 


28S  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

History  reached  to  the  year  1713,  to  have  cleared 
up  the  reputation  of  William  Penn.  If  he  thought 
fit  to  say,  that  he  had  absconded  in  1690  in  conse- 
quence of  having  been  concerned  in  the  plot  with 
the  Lord  Viscount  Preston,  he  ought  to  have  said 
that  he  made  his  innocence  appear  in  1693.  He 
ought  to  have  said  also,  that  in  the  same  year,  in 
which  the  Proclamation  came  out  against  William 
Penn,  Fuller  was  voted  by  the  House  of  Commons 
a  notorious  impostor,  a  cheat,  and  a  false  accuser  ; 
and  that  he  was  afterwards  prosecuted  by  the  At- 
torney-General on  an  Address  from  that  House  to 
the  King,  and  that  he  was  sentenced  to  the  pillory^ 
He  ought  to  have  stated  again,  that  the  same  Fuller 
was  prosecuted  in  the  King's  Bench  in  1 702,  and 
convicted  again  as  an  impostor  ;  and  that  for  pub- 
lishing certain  libels  he  was  sentenced  to  stand  three 
times  in  the  pillory,  to  be  sent  to  the  house  of  cor- 
rection, and  to  pay  a  fine  of  a  thousand  marks.  A 
similar  deficiency  is  observable  in  the  same  History 
about  two  years  before  this  period  ;  for  Burnet, 
when  speaking  of  the  affair  of  the  Fellows  of  Mag- 
dalen College,  and  this  more  particularly  than  any 
other  writer,  never  mentions  the  noble  interference 
of  William  Penn,  by  which  he  dared  to  expostulate 
with  the  King  concerning  it.  It  would  be  in  vain  to 
say  that  he  was  ignorant  of  it,  when  the  subject  had 
excited  such  national  attention,  when  the  parties 
concerned  were  so  numerous  and  all  of  them  above 
the  common  rank,  when  the  cause  too  being  that  of 
a  struggle  for  liberty  against  James,  was  one  of  the 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  289 

Bishop's  own,  and  when  he  knew  better  than  any 
other  man,  even  to  the  minuteness  of  a  spy,  what 
was  going  on  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom.  Hence, 
by  reason  of  such  deficiencies^*^,  the  character  of  one 
of  the  best  of  men  has  gone  down  to  posterity  with 
some  of  the  foulest  blots. 

The  next  charges  against  him  in  the  order  of  time 
are  contained  in  the  State  Papers  of  Nairne,  included 
in  the  two  volumes  of  original  papers  published  by 
Macpherson.  Nairne  had  served  as  Under  Secre- 
tary to  three  successive  Ministers  of  James  after 
his  retreat  to  France,  and  became  acquainted  in 
consequence  with  all  the  intelligence  which  was 
sent  from  England  in  behalf  of  the  exiled  King.  It 
appears  in  the  first  volume,  that  Captain  Williamson 
had  been  sent  over  to  England  as  a  spy  to  pick  up 
all  the  information  he  could,  and  to  collect  the  sen- 
timents and  advice  of  James's  friends,  in  favour  of 
his  Restoration.  Having  completed  his  errand,  he 
either  drew  up  a  Memorial  and  sent -it,  or  carried 
it  back  with  him,  to  France.  It  was  dated  Decem- 
ber 1693.  The  memorial  stated  first  the  opinion 
of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  which  was,  that  James's 
Restoration  might  be  effected,  if  the  French  King 
would  send  over  to  England  thirty  thousand  men 
for  the  purpose.  It  then  went  on  to  detail  the 
opinions  of  others  on  the  same  subject,  such  as  of 

*  It  is  remarkable,  that  subsequent  historians,  copying  chiefly 
from  Burnet,  have  all  omitted  to  mention  William  Penn's  acquit- 
tal in  1693,  though  his  restoration  to  his  Government  and  the 
being  at  large  afterwards  were  so  notorious. 
VOL.  II.  C   C 


290  :^.IEM0IRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

the  Lords  Montgomery,  Aylesbur>%  Yarmouth, 
Arran,  and  others,  till  it  came  to  that  of  William 
Penn.  The  latter  was  reported  to  have  given  his  ad- 
vice as  follows :  ^^  Mr.  Penn  says,  that  your  Majesty 
has  had  several  occasions,  but  never  any  so  favour- 
able as  the  present ;  and  he  hopes  that  your  Majesty 
will  be  earnest  with  the  Most  Christian  King  not  to 
neglect  it;  that  a  descent  with  thirty  thousand  men 
will  not  only  re-establish  your  Majesty,  but  accord- 
ing to  all  appearance  break  the  league ;  that  your 
Majesty's  kingdoms  will  be  wretched  while  the 
Confederates  are  united ;  for  while  there  is  a  fool 
in  England,  the  Prince  of  Orange  will  have  a  pen- 
sioned Parliament,  who  will  give  him  money."  It 
appears  also  by  the  second  volume,  that  William 
Penn  still  continued  plotting,  and  this  for  twenty 
years  afterwards ;  for  a  letter,  dated  )3ecember 
1713,  and  which  was  written  in  cyphers  by  Plunket, 
an  Irish  spy  in  England,  to  his  employers  in  France, 
was  found  among  Nairne's  papers  as  notifying  the 
fact.  It  was  the  object  of  this  letter  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  the  various  and  secret  intrigues  then 
going  on  in  England,  and  accordingly  Plunket 
mentioned  the  names  of  those  with  whom  he  had 
conversed  on  the  subject  of  his  mission.  Suffice  it 
sav,  that  one  of  these,  when  decyphered,  was  put 
down  as  the  name  of  William  Penn. 

I  shall  now  reply  to  these  charges.  And  first  of 
all  (setting  aside  the  consideration,  tha^  they  come 
through  the  medium  of  spies  and  informers,  or  of 
others  who  might  gratify  their  emplo}  trs  by  inlcili- 


OF    WILLIAM  PENN,  '^01 

geiice  the  falsehood  of  which  could  not  be  detected 
at  a  distance,)  are  they  in  themselves  credible  ?  Is  it 
possible  that  William  Penn,  as  a  Quaker,  could 
ever  have  been  either  directly  or  indirectly  concern- 
ed in  advice  or  transactions  of  this  nature?  Is  it 
possible,  after  four  accusations  and  four  acquittals, 
that  he  would  not  have  been  singularly  cautious  of 
his  conduct  in  this  respect?  Was  he  never  to  learn 
wisdom?  And  is  it  probable,  however  well  he  might 
have  wished  even  to  the  Restoration  of  James  the 
Second,  that  he  would  have  hazarded  his  life  and 
reputation  by  extending  his  services  (v/hich  must 
have  been  the  case  in  1713)  to  his  son  the  Pretender ^ 
whom  he  could  never  have  seen  after  two  months 
old?  Happily,  however,  we  have  in  the  dates  of  the 
charges  themselves  the  most  ample  means  of  ref  t- 
ing  them:  for  in  the  very  month  of  Decehii^^y 
1693,  when  the  Memorial  cf  the  spy  Wilhiuiisou 
makes  William  Penn  criminally  advising  in  behalf 
of  the  Restoration  of  James,  he  had  established  his 
innocence  before  the  King  and  Council  o^  all  matters 
relating  to  that  subject  up  to  that  date;  and  in  the 
year  1713,  when  the  spy  Plunket  gave  a  similar 
account  of  him,  he  had  lost  in  a  great  measure  both 
his  jnemory  and  understandings  and,  what  is  more, 
he  had  been  in  that  pitiable  state  for  eighteen  months' 
before.  Let  it  be  remembered  also,  that  eighteen 
months  prior  to  this  latter  charge,  he  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Crov/n-lawyers  to  have  been  in- 
capable even  of  executing  the  bargain,  which  he 


"29^  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

had  made  with  the  Government  for  the  purchase  ot 
his  Pennsylvanian  concerns. 

'J'he  imputations  against  him,  which  follow  next 
in  the  order  of  time,  and  which  are  trivial  in  com- 
parison with  the  former"^,  come  nearly  together,  and 
from  two  persons  of  distinguished  talents  and  cha- 
racter. George,  the  first  Lord  Lyttelton,  whom  I 
shall  mention  first,  has  introduced  into  one  of  his 
"  Dialogues  of  the  Dead,"  namely,  in  that  between 
Fernando  Cortez  and  William  Penn,  insinuations 
too  broad  to  be  misunderstood,  that  the  latter  was 
swayed  by  worldly  motives   in  his   settlement  of 

Pennsylvania. It  would  almost  be  an  insult  to 

the  understanding  of  the  reader,  if  I  were  to  attempt 
in  any  regular  manner  to  disprove  the  charge,  be- 
cause it  must  have  appeared  already  in  the  course 

*  I  had  occasion  to  observe  but  a  little  while  ago,  in  examin* 
ing  the  outcry  of  Papist  and  Jesuit  against  William  Penn,  that 
in  all  charges,  whether  against  public  or  private  men,  there  was 
always  a  something  which  had  given  birth  to  them,  and  I  stated 
his  education  at  Saumur  to  have  afforded  the  origin  of  that  out- 
cry. So  in  the  present  case,  having  proved  that  he  had  no  con- 
cem  in  the  plots  and  conspiracies  of  which  he  had  been  accused, 
I  have  to  state,  that  his  open  unsuspecting  disposition  (judging 
others  by  the  state  of  his  own  heart)  led  him  at  times  to  be  too 
unguarded  in  his  expressions,  especially  after  the  Revolution, 
when  he  had  often  those  about  him  who  were  disposed  to  put 
the  most  unfavourable  construction  upon  every  word  that  dropped 
from  him.  In  consequence  of  this  his  unguarded  state,  which  be- 
trayed a  weakness  though  a  virtuous  one,  it  was  no  matter  of 
surprise  to  many  of  his  most  attached  friends,  that  he  was, 
during  several  years,  a  constant  object  of  suspicion  with  the  Go- 
vemment 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  29S 

of  this  work,  that  if  there  was  a  feature  in  the  cha- 
racter of  William  Penn  more  prominent  than  an- 
other, it  was  that  of  unbounded  generosity  in  the 
administration  of  his  Province.  Need  I  repeat 
that,  when  the  first  Assembly  offered  him  an  impost 
on  a  variety  of  goods  both  imported  and  exported 
(which  impost  in  a  course  of  years  would  have  be- 
come a  large  revenue  of  itself)  he  nobly  refused 
it — thus  showing  that  his  object  in  coming  among 
them  was  not  that  of  his  own  aggrandizement ^  but 
for  the  promotion  of  a  public  good?  Need  I  repeat 
what  Oldmixon  has  said  of  him  ?  he,  who  was  a 
furious  Revolutionist,  and  who  was  strongly  preju- 
diced against  him  on  account  of  his  former  attach- 
ment to  James  the  Second  :  '^  We  shall  not,"  says  he, 
"  enter  into  any  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  the  trou- 
ble that  has  been  given  Mr.  Penn  lately  about  his 
province  of  Pennsylvania ;  it  appears  to  us  by  what 
xve  harce  heard  of  it  from  others^  for  from  himself  we 
had  never  any  information  concerning  it,  that  he 
has  been  involved  in  it  by  his  bounty  to  the  Indians^ 
his  generosity  in  minding  the  public  affairs  of  the 
colony  more  than  his  own  private  ones^  his  humanity 
to  those  who  have  not  made  suitable  returns,  his 
confidence  in  those  that  have  betrayed  him,  and  the 
rigour  of  the  severest  equity^  a  word  that  borders 
the  nearest  to  injustice  of  any.  'Tis  certainly  the 
duty  of  this  colony  to  maintain  the  Proprietary, 
who  has  laid  out  his  all  for  the  maintenance  of  them 
in  the  possession  of  his  Territory,  and  the  public  in 
gratitude  ought  to  make  good  what  they  reap  the 
Cc2 


294  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

benefit  of."  This  is  the  only  defence  I  shall  offer. 
I  may  observe,  however,  if  any  thing  can  be  said  in 
justification  of  Lord  Lyttelton,  whose  Dialogue  be- 
trays gross  illiberality  as  well  as  ignorance  of  the 
Society  of  the  Quakers,  that  there  was  no  history  in 
his  time  of  William  Penn,  which  gave  an  account  of 
his  American  life  ;  so  that  he  could  have  known 
but  little  of  the  sacrifices  which  the  latter  had  made, 
or  of  the  real  motives  of  his  undertaking.  I  may 
observe  also,  that  circumstances  had  unfortunately 
conspired  to  give  him  an  unfavourable  impression 
of  the  Quakers,  and  of  those  of  Pennsylvania  in  par- 
ticular. For  he  had,  a  few  years  before,  been  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  it  was  then  a  time 
of  war.  The  Government  at  home,  seeing  that  the 
French  had  drawn  over  some  of  the  Indian  tribes 
on  their  side,  wished  the  Pennsylvanians  to  raise  a 
militia  or  to  arm  ;  but  the  Assembly,  of  which  a 
great  part  were  principled  against  war,  would  not 
come  into  the  measure.  Their  conduct  on  this  oc- 
casion gave  the  Administration  a  great  deal  of  trou- 
ble. It  made  them,  therefore,  very  unpopular  both 
with  him  and  his  friends  in  power.  They  were  con- 
sidered as  the  most  refractory  of  all  the  Govern- 
ments within  the  British  rule.  From  this  refracto- 
riness it  was  judged,  either  that  the  Quakers  of 
Pennsylvania  were  not  fitted  to  hold  the  reins  of 
power  there,  or  that  the  Constitution  of  it  gave  a  li- 
berty that  was  incompatible  with  the  supposed  inte- 
rests of  the  Mother-Country.  Hence,  Lord  Lyt- 
telton  was  prejudiced  in  some  measure  against  botb^ 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  295 

and  by  association  of  ideas  against  the  man  who  was 
the  founder  of  the  one^  and  the  associate  in  manners, 
habits,  and  principles  with  the  other. 

The  other  writer  alluded  to,  and  the  last  whom  I 
shall  notice  as  having  cast  improper  reflections  upon 
William  Penn,  was  the  celebrated  Dr.  Franklin  in 
his  "  Historical  Review  of  the  Constitution  and 
Government  of  Pennsylvania  from  its  Origin," 
published  in  1759.  In  this  Review^  we  find,  among 
others,  the  following  passages  : 

"  At  the  head  of  this  Frame  or  System,'*  savs  he, 
"  is  a  short  Preliminary  Discourse,  a  part  of  which 
serves  to  give  us  a  more  lively  idea  of  William  Penn 
preaching  in  Gracechurch-street,  than  we  derive 
from  Raphael's  cartoon  of  Paul  preaching  at  Athens. 
As  a  Man  of  Conscience  he  sets  out ;  as  a  Man  of 
Reason  he  proceeds  ;  and  as  a  Man  of  the  Worlds  he 
offers  the  most  plausible  conditions  to  all^  to  the  end 
that  he  might  gain  some,'*'' 

"  This  Frame  consisted  of  twenty-four  articles, 
and  savoured  much  of  Harrington  and  his  Oceana*'^'' 

"  But  in  the  following  year,  the  scene  of  action 
being  shifted  from  the  Mother-Country  to  the  Co- 
lony, the  deportment  of  the  Legislator  was  shifted 
too.  Less  of  the  Man  of  God  now  appeared^  and 
more  of  the  Man  of  the  WorW^ 

*  He  wrote  it,  though  it  was  attributed  to  one  Ralph,  to 
prejudice  the  people  against  the  Proprietary-family,  in  order 
to  effect  a  change  of  Government  from  Proprietary  to  Royal ; 
which  was  afterwards  attempted,  but  which  to  his  great  cha- 
grin failed.  This  failure  laid  the  foundation  of  his  animosi^ 
to  Great  Britain,  which  was  so  conspicuous  afterwardsv 


296  MEMOIRS    OP    THE    LIFE 

"  One  point  he  had  already  carried  against  the  in- 
clination of  his  followers,  namely,  the  reservation  of 
^it'Rents^  which  they  had  remonstrated  against  as 
a  burden  in  itself,  and,  added  to  the  purchase-mo- 
ney, was  without  precedent  in  any  other  Colony;  but 
he  artfully  distinguishing  the  two  capacities  of  Pro- 
prietary and  Governor,  and  insinuating  that  Go- 
vernment must  be  supported  xuith  splendour  and 
dignity,  and  that  by  this  expedient  they  would  be 
exempt  from  other  taxes,  the  bait  took^  and  the  point 
was  carried." 

I  shall  neither  dwell  upon  the  bitter  spirit,  nor  the 
sarcastic  manner,  in  which  the  above  sentences  were 
dictated,  nor  upon  the  folly  of  supposing  that  the 
idea  of  supporting  Government  with  splendour 
could  ever  have  been  held  out  by  such  a  man  as 
William  Penn,  or  to  such  people  as  embarked  with 
him  in  the  scheme  of  his  new  Settlement ;  but  I 
shall  proceed  at  once  to  the  history  of  the  Quit- 
Rents,  that  I  may  meet  the  most  serious  of  the 
charges  they  contain. 

It  has  already  appeared,  that  when  William  Penn 
disposed  of  his  land,  he  sold  it  at  the  rate  of  forty 
shillings  for  every  hundred  acres,  but  reserved  a 
quit-rent  upon  it  of  one  shilling  annually.  He  had 
no  power  of  parting  with  it  legally  in  any  other 
way  ;  for  as  he  held  it  of  the  Crown  by  a  quit-rent 
himself  so  they  who  bought  it  were  obliged  to  hold 
it  in  the  same  manner^  or  they  could  have  had  no  legal 
title  to  their  estates.  The  question  then  is,  For 
whose  use  these  quit-rents  were  intended  ?     It  ap- 


OF  WILLIAM    PEN^.  297 

pears  by  all  the  grants  I  have  seen,  and  one  is  now 
lying  on  my  table,  that  no  mention  whatever  is  made 
in  any  of  them  either  of  Government  or  of  the  sup- 
port of  it.  William  Penn  also  signified  under  his 
own  hand,  at  the  time  of  issuing  these  Grants,  that 
any  purchasers  of  land  "  might  buy  them  off^  either 
then  or  at  a  future  time^  to  an  inconsiderable  mat' 
ter^  Thus,  for  example,  if  a  man's  quit-rent 
amounted  to  ten  shillings  annually,  he  might  buy  it 
off  within  a  penny  or  less  annually ;  but  a  penny  or 
less  annually  was  of  necessity  to  be  left  to  secure  his 
title  to  his  estate.  Now,  this  offer  of  selling  the 
quit  rents  within  a  trifle  never  would  have  been 
made  or  allowed,  if  they  had  been  pledged  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  Government.  And  here  I  may  observe, 
that  William  Penn,  in  having  done  what  I  have 
stated  him  to  do,  only  followed  the  example  of  other 
Colonies  in  the  same  part  of  the  world.  "  Every 
planter,"  says  Oldmixon,  in  his  History  of  Carolina, 
"  pays  one  penny  an  acre  quit-rent,  unless  he  buys  it 
^."  In  fact,  whether  we  refer  to  Carolina  or  to 
Pennsylvania,  the  quit-rents  were  underscood  both 
by  the  seller  and  the  purchasers  to  be  solely  for  the 
private  use  and  benefit  of  the  former.  It  was  under- 
stood in  Pennsylvania  by  both  parties,  that  forty 
shillings  paid  down  and  one  shilling  annually,  was 
the  consideration  paid  on  the  one  hand  for  a  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  received  on  the  other.  This  was 
the  construction  originally  put  upon  the  purchase  ; 
and  the  same  continued  to  be  put  till  the  year  1 708, 
when  the  Assembly,   in    consequence    oi  almost 


298  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

constant  bickerings  with  the  different  Lieutenant- 
Governors,  had  fallen  into  two  parties,  the  Proprie- 
tary and  the  Popular^  the  one  for  and  the  other 
against  William  Penn.  Now  it  happened  at  this 
time,  that  the  taxes  had  so  increased  as  to  be  consi- 
dered burdensome,  and  that  the  quit-rents  (more 
land  having  been  sold  and  located)  had  increased 
also.  Then  it  was,  and  not  till  then,  that  the  Popu- 
lar part  of  the  Assembly  thought  it  would  be  an  act 
of  policy  if  they  could  turn  these  quit-rents  to  the 
support  of  the  Government,  or,  in  other  words,  to 
the  ease  of  themselves  and  their  constituents  ;  but 
they  never  even  then  asserted  that  they  had  any  just 
claim  upon  them  for  this  purpose,  but  only  that  it 
was  but  reasonable  that  they  should  be  so  applied. 

Having  brought  the  matter  to  this  period,  I  may 
now  observe,  that  the  idea  of  this  appropriation  of 
the  quit-rents,  when  once  started,  was  never  drop- 
ped. It  was  so  agreeable  to  many,  and  particularly 
oi  the  popular  party ^  that  it  was  revived  in  all  suc- 
ceeding Assemblies,  and  this  so  often,  till  it  is  sup- 
posed that  some  began  at  length  to  believe  that  the 
quit-rents  were  (as  they  were  then  denominated) 
grierances^  which  they  might  shake  off  at  pleasure. 
But  if  the  quit-rents  were  reputed  grievances  in  the 
life-time  of  William  Penn,  how  much  more  so  must 
they  have  been  considered  after  his  death,  when  his 
heirs  and  successors,  finding  the  value  of  land  in- 
creased, would  not  allow  the  Land- Office  to  issue 
new  Patents  without  increasing  them,  and  this  to 
four  times  their  former  value  !     It  was  then  that 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  299 

Dr.  Franklin  wrote  his  book  ;  and  here  it  must  be 
observed,  that  he  was  the  Clerk  and  Printer  to  the 
Assembly,  as  well  as  a  Member  of  it  also,  and  that 
he  was  not  of  the  Proprietary  but  of  the  Popular 
Party ^  and  therefore  that  he  partook  of  the  popular 
prejudices  on  the  occasion. 

It  was  entirely  through  the  same  prejudiced  me- 
dium that  he  gave  an  improper  colouring  to  other  of 
the  proceedings  of  William  Penn.  Thus  for  exam- 
ple, I  stated  that  the  latter  in  the  year  1 700  ordered 
the  Assembly  to  attend  him  at  Newcastle,  and  not 
at  Philadelphia  as  before,  for  that  he  thought  it 
would  be  but  fair^  and  that  it  would  be  showing  but 
a  proper  impartiality  in  him^  to  summon  them  to 
the  principal  town  of  the  Territories  in  its  turn. 
But  this,  says  Dr.  Franklin,  *"^  -was  perhaps  only  to 
gratify  the  inhabitants  of  the  Territories^  at  a  time 
xuhen  extraordinary  demands  ivtre  to  be  made  upon 
them  for  the  gratification  of  the  Proprietary  Gover- 
nor P  I  stated  also,  that  the  Assembly  in  ITOl 
presented  an  Address  to  William  Penn,  containing 
twenty-one  articles,  in  the  first  of  which  they  re- 
quested him  to  appoint  a  proper  successor  before  he 
left  them  for  England;  and  that  his  reply  was,  that 
he  would  take  care  to  do  it ;  but,  to  show  them  how 
much  he  wished  to  gratify  them  in  this  particular^ 
that  he  would  accept  a  Deputy  Governor  whom  they 
might  nominate  themselves.  Dr.  Franklin  allows 
that  he  made  this  offer,  but  he  adds,  "  whether  '?ut 
of  artifice  or  complaisance  was  hard  to  say^"*  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  that  the  best  of  men. 


300  MEMOIRS    OF    THE   LIFE 

may  be  run  down,  and  the  best  of  things  may  be 
perverted,  if  treated  in  this  manner. 

It  was  through  the  same  prejudiced  medium, 
again,  that  Dr.  Franklin,  when  he  had  selected  the 
first  of  the  twenty-one  articles,  as  just  mentioned, 
to  enable  him  to  indulge  his  spleen  still  further 
against  William  Penn,  omitted  the  mention  of 
others,  which  it  was  a  great  dishonour  to  the  As- 
sembly to  have  proposed.  But  I  shall  decline  going 
into  these.  I  have  no  desire  to  lessen  his  just  re- 
putation. I  have  no  desire  to  detract  from  the  just 
merit  of  the  Assembly,  who  are  to  be  applauded  for 
many  of  their  public  acts,  and  for  none  more,  in  my 
opinion,  than  for  their  noble  resistance  to  war,  by 
refusing  to  contribute  to  its  support.  Nor  am  I 
desirous  of  elevating  William  Penn  at  the  expense 
of  either.  I  am  bound,  however,  to  defend  his  cha- 
racter, where  I  think  it  has  been  injured;  and  in 
doing  this  I  must  dwell  still  longer  on  the  subject. 
It  will  be  proper  to  show,  that,  whatever  changes 
took  place  in  the  Government  of  Pennsylvania,  or 
dissatisfactions  in  the  Assembly,  with  respect  to 
him,  they  were  generally  to  be  attributed  to  his  ab- 
sence Jrom  them;  and  that,  though  there  were  per- 
sons who  disapproved  of  his  public  measures,  they 
had  yet  a  great  respect  for  him,  and  that  this  respect 
has  been  continued  to  his  memory  by  the  descend- 
ants of  the  same,  even  to  the  present  day. 

It  may  perhaps  be  remembered,  that,  when  King 
William  ordered  the  patent  to  be  made  out  for  re- 
storing the  Government  of  Pennsylvania  to  William 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN,  301 

Penn,  he  ordered  it  to  be  put  into  the  preamble, 
that  the  disorders^  which  had  appeared  there,  or/^'i- 
nated principally  in  his  abaence  from  it.  Few  facts 
are  more  capable  of  proof  than  this.  When  he  was 
in  America  the  first  time,  public  affairs  went  on,  and 
this  with  a  harmony  so  singular^  that  historians  have 
thought  proper  to  notice  it ;  but  scarcely  had  his  back 
been  turned  a  year  upon  the  Province^  when  dissatis- 
factions  began.  In  the  beginning  of  1686,  being 
then  in  England,  he  complained  over  and  over  again 
of  the  tardiness  of  the  council,  that  they  could  sel- 
dom be  got  together,  and  that  they  had  neglected 
his  letters  as  well  as  the  collection  of  his  quit-rents. 
For  these  and  other  reasons  he  found  himself  obli- 
ged to  alter  the  Executive,  that  is,  to  take  it  out  of 
the  hands  of  eighteen^  and  to  put  it  into  the  hands  of 
five.  Now  this  change  could  not  but  be  displeasing 
to  the  thirteen  who  were  displaced ;  for,  besides  the 
loss  of  their  power,  they  would  feel  that  they  could 
not  be  considered  as  wholly  faultless  on  the  occa- 
sion. It  appears,  also,  if  the  reader  will  turn  to  his 
American  life  for  this  year,  that  he  nominated  Nu 
cholas  Moore^  whom  the  Assembly  had  impeached 
to  the  new  Executive  as  an  act  of  justice.  This 
latter  circumstance  could  not  but  give  umbrage  to 
the  Assembly,  and  thus  were  laid  the  seeds  of  dis- 
satisfaction in  both  the  legislative  bodies.  Now  if 
William  Penn  had  been  in  the  Province,  there  had 
been  no  neglect  to  complain  of  as  it  related  to  letters, 
for  there  had  been  none  to  write.  There  had  been 
no  neglect  to  complain  <2/  as  it  related  to  the  coUec- 
voL.  II.  D  d 


302  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

tion  of  his  quit-rents,  for  he  would  have  seen  to  this 
himself:  and,  above  all,  there  had  been  no  occasion 
to  alter  the  Executive.  With  respect  to  Nicholas 
Moore,  it  is  highly  probable  that  he  had  never  been 
impeached  li  William  Penn  had  been  upon  the  spot, 
because,  as  I  had  occasion  to  observe  in  a  former 
chapter,  the  open,  candid,  and  impartial  way,  in 
which  he  conducted  the  Government  when  present, 
gave  no  opportunities  for  jealousies  and  suspicions; 
and  because  his  temperate  and  conciliatory  manners, 
and  his  readiness  to  hear  and  redress  grievances, 
and  his  power  so  to  do,  healed  them  when  pro- 
duced. 

Having  thus  examined  the  subject  for  1686,  I 
will  follow  it  up  through  1687  and  1688.  In 
1687  the  same  negligence  continuing  in  the  coun- 
cil, though  reductd  in  number,  William  Penn  was 
obliged  to  change  the  executive  again,  and  to  bring 
it  into  still  fewer  hands,  that  is,  in  the  year  1688 
into  the  hands  of  a  Deputy  Governor  and  two  as- 
sistants. Now  this  change  of  itself  would  be  dis- 
pleasing to  some  ;  but  the  new  Deputy  Governor 
(Blackwell)  had  been  in  his  post  but  a  short  time 
when  he  himself  gave  offence  to  others,  indeed  to 
the  Assembly  in  general.  But  if  William  Penn 
had  been  on  the  spot,  7io  Deputy  Governor  had 
been  wanted^  and  therefore  all  causes  of  displeasure 
had  been  cut  r^ff.  K\A  here  I  must  desire  the  par- 
ticular attention  of  the  reader  to  t  lis  latter  change  ; 
I  mean  to  the  creation  of  a  Deputy  Governor,  an 
appointment  arising  apparently  out  of  the  neces- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  303 

sity  of  the  case,  because  it  will  unfold  to  him  the 
causes  of  future  dissatisfaction  between  William 
Penn  and  the  Assembly  ;  for  from  this  moment 
may  be  dated  the  rise  of  the  two  parties,  Proprie- 
tary and  Popular^  as  before  spoken  of.  The  De- 
puty Governor  had  three  distinct  interests  to  attend 
to.  He  had  first,  if  I  may  use  the  expression, 
to  fleece  for  the  King,  then  for  himself,  and  lastly 
for  the  Proprietary,  his  employer.  In  taking  care 
of  the  interest  of  the  latter,  the  tendency  would  be 
rather  to  increase  his  power  and  abridge  that  of 
the  Assembly.  But  had  William  Penn  resided  in 
his  Province  as  Governor,  the  situation  of  things 
had  been  widely  different.  There  had  at  any  rate 
been  but  two  interests  to  look  after  instead  of  three. 
To  the  King  he  would  have  done  his  duty,  as  far  as 
his  religious  scruples  permitted  him  ;  and  as  to  the 
Proprietary,  he  would  have  been  far  more  unjust 
to  himself  than  to  the  Assembly,  as  all  his  conduct 
towards  them  has  abundantly  proved. 

In  this  manner  I  might  go  on  from  year  to  year, 
showing  that  his  absence  was  the  great  cause  of 
all  the  misunderstandings  between  him  and  the  As- 
sembly, but  that  it  appears  to  me  to  be  unnecessary. 
I  shall  therefore  proceed  to  show,  that,  notwith- 
standing these  diiferences,  his  memor\  was  held  in 
veneration  by  the  latter,  and  not  by  these  only,  but 
by  persons  of  all  descriptions  in  the  Province. 

It  is  worthy  then  of  remark,  that  when  Thomas, 
one  of  the  sons  of  William  Penn,  visiter!  Pennsyl- 
vania in   1732,  about  fourteen  years  after  his  fa- 


304  ME^NIOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ther's  death,  the  Assembly  presented  him  with  a|i 
Address,  which  contained  among  others  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  :  ^^  Our  long  and  ardent  desires  to 
see  one  of  our  honourable  proprietaries  among  us 
are  now  fulfilled  ;  and  it  is  with  pleasure  we  can 
say,  Thou  art  arrived  at  a  time  when  the  Govern- 
ment is  in  perfect  tranquilHty ;  and  that  there  seems 
to  be  no  emulation  among  us,  but  who  shall,  by  a 
peaceable  and  dutiful  behaviour,  give  the  best 
proof  of  the  sense  they  have  of  the  blessings  derixr- 
ed  to  us  under  our  late  honourable  Proprietary^ 
your  father^  xohose  goodness  to  his  people  deserves 
ever  to  be  remembered  with  gratitude  and  qffeC" 
tion:^ 

In  the  year  1734  John  Penn,  the  elder  brother 
of  the  former,  and  who  had  been  born  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, arrived  in  the  Province  from  England  also. 
The  Assembly  presented  him  with  an  Address  in 
like  manner,  which  began  thus  :  '*•  Excited  by  affec- 
tion and  gratitude,  we  cheerfully  embrace  this  op- 
portunity of  congratulating  thee  on  thy  safe  arrival 
at  the  place  of  thy  nativity.  When  we  commemo- 
rate the  many  benefits  bestowed  on  the  inhabitants 
of  this  colony,  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  we 
possess^  and  to  whom  these  valuable  privileges^  un- 
der God  and  the  King,  are  owing^  we  should  be 
wanting  to  ourselves  and  them  we  represent,  did 
we  not  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  thy  worthy  an- 
cestor^ a  man  of  principles  truly  humane^  an  advQ^ 
cate  for  religion  and  liberty!'* 


OF    WILLIAM   PENN.  305 

I  shall  pass  over  the  addresses  which  were  pre- 
sented to  each  of  these  5n  their  departure  for  Eng- 
land, in  which  similar  expressions  of  love  and  gra- 
titude were  bestowed  upon  their  father ;  and  I 
shall  state  at  once,  as  an  acknowledged  fact  in 
Pennsylvania,  that  not  only  was  this  the  general 
feeling  of  the  Assembly  both  then  and  afterwards^ 
but  that  there  were  none,  who  more  affectionately 
venerated  the  memory  of  William  Penn,  than  the 
descendants  of  those  very  persons,*who  at  particu- 
lar periods  were  the  loudest  in  their  clamour 
against  him.  Nay,  if  I  mistake  not,  Dr.  Frank- 
lin himself  was  among  those  who  highly  respected 
him.  Tl]te  latter  had  a  satirical  way  of  expressing 
himself  when  he  was  not  pleased,  and  therefore, 
when  he  found  fault  with  William  Penn,  he  could 
not  get  rid  of  his  old  habit ;  but  the  hostility  he 
manifested  was  far  more  in  manner  than  in  heart. 
He  was  far  more  severe,  and  this  in  earnest,  upon 
his  grandsons,  against  whom  he  published  a  small 
pamphlet,  where,  as  if  no  other  wav  had  been  k  ft 
him  to  expose  them,  it  is  singular  that  he  con- 
trasted their  conduct  with  the  virtuous  example  of 
their  noble  ancestor.  The  little  ludicrous  motto, 
which  he  prefixed  to  this  work,  and  which  was 
taken  from  John  Rogers's  Primer,  may  enable  the 
reader  to  judge  in  part  of  its  contents  : 

<*  I  send  you  here  a  little  book 

That  you  may  look  upon, 
That  you  mav   see  your  father's  facCj 

Now  he  is  dead  and  gone." 
D  d2 


306  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

I  shnll  conclude  by  stating,  that,  when  the  statue 
of  William  Penn,  alreadv* mentioned  to  have  been 
erected  to  his  memor\'  at  the  seat  of  the  late  Lord 
Le  Dcspencer,  was  removed  to  Philadelphia,  the 
citizens  received  it  with  joy.  They  restored  the 
pedestal,  and,  at  the  expense  of  many  hundred 
pounds,  put  it  up,  and  inclosed  it  by  a  proper  rail- 
ing on  the  lawn  on  the  south  side  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital,  where  it  now  stands  as  a  monu- 
ment of  their  gratitude,  and,  through  their  zeal  on 
the  occasion,  as  emblematical  of  that  of  the  whole 
province. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  SOr 


CHAPTER  XXL 


Virw  of  him  as  a  legislator  upon  Christian  principles 
in  opposition  to  those  of  the  policy  of  the  world — 
and  first  as  it  relates  to  the  governed — his  general 
maxims  of  Government — superiority  of  these  over 
others  as  to  the  extension  of  morals-— ^mechanism, 
of  the  Government  of  Pennsylvania — reputed  ex- 
cellence of  it — one  defect  said  to  belong  to  it — but 
this  no  defect  at  the  time — removed  by  him  when 
it  btcame  so — hence  the  first  trait  in  his  character 
as  a  Christian  legislator^  namely^  his  readiness  to 
alter  the  Constitution  with  time  and  circumstances 
— second  trait  to  be  seen  in  his  law  for  universal 
Toleration — reasons  upon  which  it  was  founded — 
contrast  between  it  and  the  opposite  one  under  po- 
litical legislators — both  as  to  principle  and  effect — 
this  law  the  great  cause  of  the  rapid  population  of 
Pennsylvania — third  trait  to  be  seen  in  the  aboli' 
tion  of  the  punishment  of  deaths  and  in  making  the 
reformation  of  the  offender  an  object  of  legislative 
concern — comparison  between  this  system  and 
that  of  the  sanguinary  legislator  of  the  worlds— 
noble  effects  of  the  former^  as  -witnessed  in  its  im-^ 
proved  state  at  the  present  day. 

We  have  now  seen  what  William  Penn  was  in 
his  passage  through  life,  both  as  a  private  and  as  a 
public  person,  and  I  have  not  been  sparing  in  bring* 


308  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ing  forward  what  w<jre  the  reputed  imperfections  in 
his  character.  There  is  vet  another  view,  which  we 
may  take  of  him,  and  where  posterity  have  raised 
their  voices  in  his  favour.  This  will  he  found  in 
the  important  station  which  he  filled  as  a  legislator, 
or  rather  as  the  founder  and  supporter  of  a  Govern- 
ment upon  Chrifitian  principles  in  opposition  to  those 
of  the  policy  of  the  world.  A  view  taken  of  a  per- 
son acting  in  such  a  situation,  and  under  the  influ- 
ence of  such  principles,  must,  I  apprehend,  not  only 
be  interesting  of  itself,  but  also  on  account  of  its  no- 
velty ;  for  there  is  no  Government,  no  code  of  law 
or  jurisprudence  in  Europe,  though  almost  all  Eu- 
rope is  called  Christendom,  which  has  been  raised 
upon  such  a  foundation.  The  different  Govern- 
ments of  Europe  had  their  beginning  before  Chris- 
tianity appeared.  Hence,  they  were  built  upon 
Heathen  notions,  or  false  honour  and  superstition. 
All  w^e  can  say  of  the  best  of  them  is,  that,  as  the 
light  of  Christianity  arose,  certain  barbarous  cus- 
toms and  certain  vicious  principles  of  legislation 
were  done  away,  and  that  others  were  substituted 
by  degrees,  which  were  more  pure,  more  benevo- 
lent, and  more  congenial  with  the  religion  which 
was  outwardly  professed  :  but  there  is  no  one  of 
these  at  the  present  day,  whirh  was  founded  origi- 
nallv  upon  Christianity,  or  which,  notwithstanding 
its  improrements,  has  attained  to  a  Christian  mo- 
del. There  is  a  strange  mixture  of  Jewish,  Papal, 
and  Ht-athen  notions  in  their  respective  codes.  Wil- 
liam Penn  therefore  had  an  opportunity  in  this  res- 


OF    WILLIAM   PExVN,  309 

pect,  which  but  few  have  had,  and  those  only  of  mo- 
dern times.  He  had  the  power  of  forming  a  Go- 
vernment afresh,  by  carrying  over  a  number  of 
Christians,  who  were  sensible  of  the  vicious  parts 
of  the  old  Governments,  to  a  new  land.  '*  This 
land  he  so  desired  to  obtain  and  to  keep,  as  that  he 
might  not  be  unworthy  of  God's  love,  but  do  that 
which  might  answer  his  kind  providence,  and  serve 
his  Truth  and  People,  that  an  example  might  be  set 
up  to  the  nations ;  that  there  was  room  there  (in 
America)  though  not  here  (in  England)  for  such  an 
holy  experiment."  It  is  then  under  the  sublime 
character  of  a  Christian  legislator^  that  I  am  now  to 
view  him.  By  a  Christian  legislator  I  mean  one, 
who  models  his  public  actions  and  founds  his  laws, 
as  far  as  his  abilities  permit,  on  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  the  Gospel,  having  but  one  end  in  view  through- 
out, the  happiness  of  the  governed,  which  happiness 
is  to  be  produced  only  through  means  strictly  mo- 
ral, and  by  the  improvement  of  their  moral  condi- 
tion, and  adopting,  as  it  relates  to  aliens  or  foreign- 
ers, principles  of  action  pure  in  themselves,  founded 
in  justice,  of  the  same  tendency  with  those  estab- 
lished for  the  governed,  and  promotive  of  the  same 
end. 

The  general  notions  of  William  Penn  as  they  re- 
late to  the  governed  have  already  appeared  in  the 
course  of  these  Memoirs,  and  when  collected  may 
be  stated  thus  :  He  believed  that  Government  was 
of  divine  origin,  and  a  part  as  it  were  of  Religion 
itself.     It  had  two  objects ;  to  terrify  evil-doers, 


310  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

and  to  cherish  those  that  did  well.  So  long  as  it 
kept  faithfully  to  these,  it  had  a  life  be\  ond  corrup- 
tion. The  excellence  or  imperfection  of  it  depend- 
ed upon  the  excellence  or  viciousncss  of  men.  Go- 
vernments, says  he,  depend  upon  men  rather  than 
men  upon  governments.  Like  clocks,  they  go  from 
the  motion  which  men  give  them.  Let  men  be 
good,  and  the  Government  cannot  be  bad.  If  it  be 
ill,  they  will  cure  it.  But  if  men  be  bad,  let  the 
Government  be  ever  so  good  they  will  endeavour  to 
warp  and  spoil  it  to  their  turn.  Some  were  of  opi- 
nion that  if  they  had  good  laws,  it  was  no  matter 
what  sort  of  men  they  were  who  executed  them  ; 
but  such  ought  to  consider,  that  though  good  laws 
did  well,  good  men  did  much  better  ;  for  good  lav^^s 
might  want  good  men,  and  be  abolished  or  invadtd 
by  ill  men  ;  but  good  men  would  never  want  good 
laws,  nor  suffer  ill  ones.  As  to  the  constitution  or 
mode  of  a  Government,  any  kind  of  Government 
was  free  to  the  pt-ople  under  it,  whatever  was  the 
frame,  where  the  laws  ruled  and  the  people  v/ere  a 
party  to  those  laws  ;  and  more  than  this  was  tyran- 
ny, oligarchy,  or  confusion.  The  Constitution, 
however,  and  the  manner  of  conducting  it  ought  to 
be  such  as  to  support  power  in  revt-rence  with  the 
people,  and  to  secure  the  people  from  the  abuse  of 
power,  that  they  might  be  free  by  their  just  obe- 
dience, and  the  Magistrates  honourable  for  their 
just  administration  5  for  liberty  without  obedience 
was  confusion,  and  obedience  without  liberty  was 
slavery.    They,  who  conducted  it,  were  to  see  with 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  311 

their  own  eyes  and  hear  with  their  own  ears.   They 
were  to  cherish  no  informers,  to  use  no  tricks,  to  fly 
to  no  device  to  cover  injustice,  but  to  be  upright  be- 
fore the  Lord,  trusting  in  him  above  the  contrivan- 
ces of  men.     With  respect  to  the  duration  of  a  Go- 
vernment, he  laid  it  down  that  nothing  weakened  it 
or  brought  it  to  an  end  like  vice.     No  Government 
could  maintain  its  Constitution,  however  excellent 
it  was,  without  the  preservation  of  virtue.     King- 
doms were  rarely  as  short-lived  as  men  ;  yet  they 
also  had  a  time  to  die  ;   and  as   temperance  gave 
health  to  men,  so  virtue  to  a  kingdom  ;  and  as  vice 
brought  men  betimes  to  the  grave,  so  nations  to 
their  ruin.     Nothing  was  plainer  to  him,  than  that 
as  parents  left  the  government  at  their  death,  their 
chil  iren  would  find  it.     It  was  far  better  that  the 
world  ended  with  the  parents  than  that  these  should 
transmit   their  vices,   or   should   sow   those    seeds 
which  would  ripen  to  the  ruin  of  their  children,  and 
fill  their  country  with  misery  when  they  themselves 
were  gone.   Hence  he  was  of  opinion,  that  one  of  the 
most  important  matters  in  which  a  State  could  be 
engaged  was  the  education  of  those  who  were  born 
in  it.     "  That,"   says   he,  '^  which   makes  a  good 
Constitution,  must  keep  it,  namely,  men  of  virtue, 
and  this  can  only  be  done  by  a  virtuous  education  of 
the  youth."-— — These  were  the  general  sentiments 
of  William  Penn  with  respect  to  Government.     I 
need  hardly  observe,  that  they  differ  from  those 
which  are  generally  entertained  at  the  present  day. 
It  is  usually  thought,  that  the  abuses  of  a  Govern- 


312  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ment  are  best  rectified,  or  its  model  best  perfected, 
by  changing  the  Governors,  or  by  altering  the  cor- 
rupt parts  of  its  Constitution.  William  Penn,  it 
appears,  thought  otherwise.  He  thought  they  were 
best  rectified  by  changing,  or  removing  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  people,  fie  not  only  makes  the  durabi- 
lity of  a  Government,  but  its  intrinsic  excellence, 
both  as  to  form  and  administration,  to  depend  upon 
the  improvement  of  the  morals  of  the  latter.  These 
his  sentiments  were  certainly  the  most  congenial 
with  Christianity ;  for  though  a  good  Government 
xnav  make  a  good  people,  the  empire  of  virtue 
would  be  much  more  considerably  enlarged,  and 
much  more  firmly  established,  by  acting  upon  the 
one  than  upon  the  other  s\  stem. 

The  first  subject,  as  it  relates  to  the  governed, 
which  affords  us  the  means  of  contemplating  the 
character  of  William  Penn  as  a  Christian  legislator, 
will  be  found  in  the  mechanism  or  structure  of  his 
own  particular  Government  of  Pennsylvania.  We 
have  already  seen  the  constituent  parts  of  it.  It 
consisted  of  a  Governor,  a  Council,  and  an  Assem- 
bly, the  two  last  of  which  were  to  he  ahosen  by^  and 
therefore  to  be  the  RepresentatzTes  of  the  People. 
The  Governor  was  to  be  perpetual  President,  but 
he  was  to  have  but  a  treble  rote.  It  was  the  office 
of  the  Council  to  prepare  and  propose  Bills,  to  see 
that  the  laws  were  executed,  to  take  care  of  the 
peace  and  safetv  of  the  Province,  to  settle  the  situa- 
tion of  ports,  cities,  market- towns,  roads,  and  other 
public  places,  to  inspect  the  public  Treasury,  to 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  31o 

erect  Courts  of  Justice,  to  institute  schools  for  the 
virtuous  education  of  youth,  and  to  reward  the  au- 
thors of  useful  discovery.  Not  less  than  two  thirds 
of  these  were  necessary  to  make  a  quorum,  and  the 
consent  of  not  less  than  two  thirds  of  such  quorum 
in  all  matters  of  moment.  The  Assembly  were  to 
have  no  deliberative  power,  but,  when  Bills  were  . 
brought  to  them  from  the  Governor  and  Council,  to 
pass  or  reject  them  by  a  plain  Yes  or  No.  They 
were  to  present  Sheriffs  and  Justices  of  the  Peace 
to  the  Governor,  a  double  number  for  his  choice  of 
half.  They  were  to  be  chosen  annually^  and  to  be 
chosen  by  secret  ballot. 

Such,  in  few  words,  was  the  Constitution,  as  or- 
ganised by  William  Penn.  When  it  came  out,  it 
excited  much  conversation,  and  was  considered  by 
good  and  wise  men  not  only  as  admirable  in  itself, 
out  as  exceUing  all  the  models  which  had  been 
adopted  in  the  other  American  colonies^.  It  ap- 
pears by  what  has  been  said  that  the  People  had  an 

*  We  have  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  candour  of  Locke 
upon  this  subject.  Locke,  it  is  well  known,  drew  up  at  the  re- 
quest of  Lord  Shaftesbury  a  Form  of  Government  for  Carolina, 
which  then  comprehendeil  both  the  northern  and  southern  dis- 
tricts of  that  name.  It  happened  that  he  and  William  Penn, 
and  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  Isaac)  Newton,  and  others,  were  in 
company,  and  that  the  conversation  turned  upon  the  comparative 
excellence  of  the  New  American  Governments,  but  particularly 
of  those  of  Carolina  and  Pennsylvania.  The  matter  was  at  length 
argued  in  the  presence  of  the  two  legislators,  when  Locke  inge- 
nuously yielded  the  palm  to  Penn  on  the  occasion. 
VOL*  II.  E  e 


314  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

extraordinary  share  in  the  Government.     Though 
Bills  were  to  be  proposed  only  by  the  Council,  the 
latter  could  scarcely  introduce  to  the  Assembly  such 
as  would  become  obnoxious,  because  a  small  mi- 
nority could  stifle  them  in  their  very  birth.     The 
members  of  the  Assembly  could  not  set  their  con- 
stituents at  defiance  or  do  injury  to  the  State  for  any 
length  of  time,  for  they  were  only  in  office  for  a 
year ;  nor  could  constituents  on  the  other  hand,  the 
elections  being  secretly  conducted,  be  overawed  in 
their  votes,  or  give  offence  to  their  own  detriment 
by  the  same,  or  lose  the  opportunity  of  choosing 
those  who  they  thought  would  serve  their  country 
best.     One  defect,  however,  has  been  said  to  belong 
to  the  Constitution  as  now  described.     The  Assem- 
bly, it  bas  appeared,  had  no  power  to  propose  Bills, 
nor  had  they  any  deliberative  power  over  those 
which  were  sent  to  them.     This  exclusion  of  them 
from  the'  privileges  of  the  Council  has  been  com- 
plained of  as  a  great  oversight  in  William  Penn. 
It  has  been  considered  as  an  unnecessary  infringe- 
ment upon  freedom,  and  as  depriving  the  State  of 
the  talents  of  many  who  might  have  served  it.     To 
this  however  it  may  be  replied,  that  William  Penn 
adapted  his  Constitution  to  existing  circumstances^ 
and  that  he  considered  certain  parts  of  it  merely  as 
parts  for  triaU      Men,  v/ho  had  houses  to  build  for 
immediate  shelter,  lands  to  clear  and  cultivate  for 
immediate  support,  roads  to  construct,  and  ])rovi- 
sion  to  make  aqainst  all  the  accidents  to  which  new 
settlements  in  a  wilderness  were  liable,  had  but  lit- 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN,  315 

tie  opportunity  for  legislation  or  time  to  waste  in 
debate.  It  was  far  better  for  the  Province,  that 
William  Penn,  who  had  studied  the  subject,  and 
who  was  a  man  of  great  resources,  should  take  upon 
himself,  in  conjunction  with  a  few,  in  this  infancy  of 
things,  the  proposal  of  what  was  necessary:  and 
this  was  the  opinion  of  that  great  and  liberal  lawyer 
Sir  William  Jones,  then  Attorney-General,  a  man 
who  would  rather  have  given  new  rights  to  almost 
any  extent,  than  have  withheld  the  least,  if  any  such 
could  have  been  conducive  to  a  good  end.  It  throws 
no  small  weight  into  the  scale  to  say,  that  this  excel- 
lent person  both  revised  and  approved  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  William  Penn,  as  it  was  originally  offer- 
ed. The  alleged  defect  then  was  no  defect  at  the 
time:  but  v/hen  it  became  so  it  was  removed ;  for 
it  must  be  brought  to  the  recollection  of  the  reader, 
that  in  about  fourteen  )'ears  after  this  time,  namely, 
in  1696,  when  houses  had  ben  erected  in  numbers, 
lands  had  been  cleared  to  a  considerable  extent,  ma- 
ny difficulties  and  impediments  removed,  and  men 
began  to  have  leisure,  so  that  the  Assembly  found 
that  they  could  exercise  the  privilege  which  had 
been  denied  them,  and  were  desirous  of  so  doing, 
William  Penn  sanctioned  an  alteration  of  the  Con- 
stitution to  this  end,  by  giving  them  the  power  of 
preparing  and  proposing  whatever  Bills  they  were 
of  opinion  would  tend  in  their  operation  to  the  pub- 
lic good.  Let  it  be  brought  also  to  his  recollection, 
that  in  the  year  1701,  when  the  constitution  was 
again  altered,  he  confirmed  the  privilege.     For  this 


316  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

he  obtained  something  like  an  encomium  from  an 
opponent,  "  On  the  other  hand,"  says  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, in  his  '  Historical  View  of  the  Government  of 
Pennsylvania,'  *'  the  Assembly,  who  could  not  pro- 
pound laws,  though  they  might  amend  or  reject 
them,  were  put  in  possession  of  that  privilege,  and 
upon  the  whole,  there  was  much  more  room  for  ac- 
knowledgments than  complaints."  How  much 
soever  the  Governor  had  grown  upon  Mr.  Penn, 
and  how  much  soever  his  concern  for  others  had 
worn  off  when  raised  to  a  sphere  above  them,  it  is 
plain  he  had  not  forgotten  his  own  Trial,  nor  the 
noble  Commentary  upon  Magna  Charta,  which  in 
his  tract  called  '  The  People's  ancient  and  just  Li- 
berties asserted '  he  had  upon  that  occasion  made 
public,  wherein  he  says,  "  that  there  were  but  two 
sorts  of  Government,  namely,  Will  and  Power,  or 
Condition  and  Contract ;  that  the  first  was  a  Go- 
vernment of  Men,  the  second  of  Laws ;  that  uni- 
versal Reason  was  and  ought  to  be  among  rational 
beings  universal  Law;  that  of  Laws  some  were 
fundamental  and  immutable  ;  some  temporary ^  made 
for  present  convenience^  and  for  convenience  to  be 
changed;  that  the  fundamental  Laws  of  England 
were  of  all  laws  most  abhorrent  of  Will  and  Plea- 
sure ;  and  that  till  houses  should  stand  without  their 
own  foundations,  and  Englishmen  ceased  to  be  En- 
glishmen, they  could  not  be  cancelled,  nor  the  sub- 
jects deprived  of  the  benefits  of  them." 

It  will  appear  then,  from  the  view  I  have  taken  of 
what  has  been  considered  as  a  defective  part  of  his 


OF   WILLIAM    PENN.  317 

Government,  that  he  deserves,  first,  the  character  of 
a  wise  Legislator  by  the  adaptation  of  his  system  to 
existing  circumstances^  and,  secondly,  that  of  a  vir- 
tuous one  by  his  xvillingness  to  relinquish  a  part  of 
it  when  a  new  situation  of  things  rendered  it  desi- 
rable.    If  the  end  of  Government  be  the  general 
happiness — and  if  its  excellence,  the  happy  manner  of 
its  administration,  and  its  durability,  depend  upon 
virtue — then  it  is  the  duty  of  a  Christian  Governor 
to  be  willing  to  promote  every  change  which  may 
conduce  to  the  improvement  of  the  rational  liberty 
or  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  governed.     I  know 
of  no  instance  where  a  Legislator  can  display  his 
Christian  character  to  more  advantage  than  in  this  ; 
and  it  was  in  this  that  William  Penn  so  eminently 
shone.     He  was  always  willing  to  change  for  the 
better,  always  willing  to  alter  rationally  with  the 
times.     In  1683  he  told  the  Assembly,  "  that  they 
might  amend,  alter,  or  add,  for  the  public  good ;  and 
that  he  was  ready  to  settle  such  foundations  with 
them  as  might  be  for  their  happiness,  according  to 
the  powers  vested  in  him."     In  1701,  when  he  was 
about  to  leave  them  to  go  to  England,  he  exhorted 
them,  "  seeing  all  men  were  mortal,  to  think  of  some 
suitable  expedient  for  their  safety  as  well  in  their 
privileges  as  in  their  property,  and  xo  review  again 
their  Laws,  and  propose  new  ones  that  might  better 
suit  their  circumstances."     Here  then  lies  the  dif- 
ference between  the  Christian  Statesman  and  the 
Politician  of  the  World.     The  former,  bring  Vir- 
tucywill  be  pliant  and  always  ready  to  obey  its  call.. 
Ee2 


318  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

The  latter,  loving  Power ^  will  be  unwilling  to  part 
with  it.  Can  any  thing  be  more  obvious  than  that, 
as  the  moral  and  political  states  of  kingdoms  change, 
the  Laws  of  the  same  should  in  some  measure  be 
changed  also ;  or  that  Laws  passed  in  the  days  of 
ferocity,  ignorance,  and  superstition,  are  unfit  for  a 
civilized  people  ?  And  yet  how  obstinate  have  po- 
litical Governors  been  in  retaining  them,  though 
they  themselves  have  acknowledged  them  to  be 
useless  !  Hence  letters  of  blood,  though  dead  letters 
in  themselves,  continue  to  stain  the  Statute  Books 
even  of  enlightened  Legislatures  to  the  present 
day. 

The  next  opportunity  we  shall  have  of  seeing. 
William  Penn  in  the  character  of  a  Christian  Le- 
gislator in  opposition  to  that  of  the  Legislator  of 
the  World  will  be  in  the  examination  of  some  of 
his  Laws.  Among  these  I  cannot  but  notice,  and 
prior  to  all  others,  that  noble  one  which  related  to 
Liberty  of  Conscience,  or  universal  Toleration  of 
Faith  and  Worship.  The  arguments  by  which 
he  was  influenced  on  this  subject  have  already  ap- 
peared ;  but  as  they  lie  scattered  in  different  parts 
of  the  Work,  I  shall  collect  them,  and  bring  them 
under  one  point  of  view,  that  we  may  see  more 
distinctly  the  foundation  on  which  it  stood.  It 
was,  he  conceived,  the  prerogative  of  God  alone 
to  preside  in  matters  of  religious  Faith.  God 
alone  was  the  Judge  of  Conscience.  All  mistakes 
about  religion  were  known  to  him  only.  Hence 
carthlv  Governors,  though  it  was  both  their  inte- 


Of   WILLIAM    PENN.  319 

rest  and  their  duty  to  support  Religion,  had  no 
right  to  erect  a  tribunal  whereby  to  make  them- 
selves judges  of  religious  Faith.  They  were  the 
Kings  of  men  but  not  of  consciences.  They  had 
nothing  to  do  with  men  but  as  civil  subjects,  such 
as  adultererers,  thieves,  murderers,  and  those 
whose  principles  were  subversive  of  industry,  fide- 
lity, justice,  and  obedience.  Those,  on  the  other 
hand,  who  lived  soberly  and  honestly,  who  gave 
no  offence  to  others,  and  obeyed  all  Laws  of  a 
civil  and  moral  nature,  were  entitled,  notwithstand- 
ing a  difference  of  creed,  to  their  protection.  But 
if  the  said  Governors,  who  were  fallible  men,  es- 
tablished propositions  as  Articles  of  Faith  and  as 
bonds  of  Christian  communion,  (propositions  form- 
ed by  their  own  fallible  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures,) and  excluded  those  from  civil  privileges 
who  could  not  conscientiously  conform  to  them, 
and  moreover  subjected  them  to  severe  penalties 
and  punishments  for  this  their  nonconformity  there- 
to, then  the  said  Governors  were  guilty  of  the 
crime  of  usurping  the  prerogative  of  Heaven, 
Such  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  Governors  was,  be- 
sides, unreasonable.  It  was  unreasonable  to  pu- 
nish any  man  in  this  world  about  the  things  which 
belonged  to  the  next.  It  was  unreasonable  again, 
because  the  mind  of  man  could  not  be  convinced 
by  other  arguments  than  those  which  were  ade- 
quate to  its  own  nature.  Fines  and  imprison- 
ments could  never  be  fit  punishments  for  faults 
that  were  purely  iutellectual.     It  was,  besides,  pre** 


320  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

sumptuous ;   because  no  Governor  could  say  that 
his  own  was  the  true  Faith.     It  was  also  unjust ; 
for  nothing  could  be  more  unjust  than  to  sacrifice 
the  liberty  and  property  of  any  man,  where  he  was 
not  found  breaking  any  law  which  related  to  natural 
or  civil  things.     It  was  a  war  against  pious  living, 
which  ought  to  be  the  only  test  of  the  value  of  men 
as    moral  beings.     It  was   pure   oppression,    first, 
because  it  attempted  to  prevent  what  was   never 
likely  to  happen  ;  for  a  diversity  of  religious  opin- 
ions never  yet  endangered  a  State  :  and,  secondly, 
because   it  always  missed   of  its   end ;    for  force 
might  make    hypocrites,    but    could    never  make 
converts.     Violence  never  made  a  true  convert, 
nor  bodily  punishment  a  sincere  Christian.     Last- 
ly, such  conduct  was  against  both  the  letter  and  the 
spirit  of  the   Christian  religion.      In   no  part  of 
Divine  Writ  could  it  be  found,  that  Christ  or  his 
Apostles  had  laid  down  Articles  of  Faith  as  ne- 
cessary for   Christian  communion,  and  they  were 
not  wanting  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God 
to  the  Church.     Christ,  on  the  other  hand,  prohi- 
bited all  force  in  producing  an  uniformity  of  reli- 
gious opinion.       He   reproved  the   zeal  of  those 
who  would  have  called  down  fire  from  heaven  on 
the  Samaritans,  because  the  latter  would  not  re- 
ceive him.     He  opposed  them  again,  when  on  see- 
ing a  man  casting  out  devils  in  his  name  they  forbad 
him,  because  he  would  not  follow  them.     He  di- 
rectly took  off  the  prohibition  ;  thus  reversing  the 
judgment  they  had  given.     He  said  expressly,  at 


OF   WILLIAM  PENN.  3^1 

another  time,  that  there  were  not  many  masters  in 
his  church,  but  one.  He  desired  that  the  tares 
and  the  wheat  might  be  allowed  to  grow  up  toge- 
ther till  the  harvest.  The  Apostles  conducted 
themselves  in  the  same  manner.  They  used  no 
carnal  weapons  in  the  propagation  of  their  reli- 
gion. Their  swords  were  all  of  them  spiritual, 
and  it  was  by  these  that  they  overcame.  They 
inculcated  also  the  same  doctrine.  Who  art  thou^ 
says  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  judgest  another  man^s 
servant  ?  They  recommended  Love  or  Charity  as 
the  most  noble  of  all  the  Christian  duties,  and  the 
most  worthy  of  the  character  of  their  divine  Mas- 
ter. Christ  came  to  us  in  Love.  He  died,  and 
died  for  us  also,  in  Love.  His  religion  was  found- 
ed in  Love.  It  commanded  us  also  to  do  as  we 
would  be  done  by.  Thus  we  were  not  to  hate, 
persecute,  and  oppress  each  other,  and  much  less 
for  a  mere  difference  in  religious  Faith. 

These  then  were  the  arguments  by  which  the 
mind  of  William  Penn  was  influenced  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religious  Liberty  j  and  knowing  how  es* 
sential  such  liberty  was  to  the  happiness  of  man* 
kind,  and  what  man  was  capable  of  under  the  do- 
minion of  bigotry  and  superstition,  he  dared  not 
as  a  Christian,  when  he  had  a  new  state  to  form, 
do  otherwise  than  establish  an  universal  Tolera- 
tion there.  This  he  did  in  the  most  ample  man- 
ner. Jews,  Turks,  Catholics,  Presbyterians,  and 
people  of  all  persuasions  in  religion,  were  to  be  en- 
tirely free  both  as  to  their  Faith  and  Worship, 


322  MEMOIRS    OF   THE   LIFE 

while  they  conducted  themselves  properly  as  citi- 
zens. ''  Because,"  says  he,  '*  no  people  can  be 
truly  happy,  though  under  the  greatest  enjoyment 
of  civil  liberties,  if  abridged  of  the  freedom  of 
their  consciences  as  to  religious  profession  and 
worship  ;  and  Almighty  God  being  the  only  Lord 
of  Conscience,  Father  of  Lights  and  Spirits,  and 
the  Author  as  well  as  Object  of  all  divine  know- 
ledge, faith,  and  worship,  who  only  doth  enlighten 
the  mind,  arid  persuade  and  convince  the  under- 
standing of  people,  I  do  hereby  grant  and  de- 
clare, that  no  person  or  persons  inhabiting  this 
Province  or  Territories,  who  shall  confess  and  ac- 
knowledge one  Almighty  God,  the  Creator,  Up- 
holder, and  Ruler  of  the  V\''orld,  and  profess  him 
or  themselves  obliged  to  live  quietly  under  the  ci- 
vil Government,  shall  be  in  any  case  molested  or 
prejudiced  in  his  or  their  person  or  estate  because 
of  his  or  their  conscientious  persuasion  or  practice, 
nor  be  compelled  to  frequent  or  maintain  any  reli- 
gious worship,  place,  or  ministry,  contrary  to  his 
or  their  mind,  or  to  do  or  suffer  any  other  act  or 
thing  contrary  to  their  religious  persuasion."  And 
so  impressed  was  he  upon  this  subject,  as  a  matter 
of  Christian  duty,  that  he  determined  in  his  Char- 
ter that  the  above  law  should  be  one  of  those 
which  were  never  to  be  changed.  "  And  because," 
savs  he,  "the  happiness  of  mankind  depends  so 
much  upon  the  enjoying  of  the  Liberty  of  their 
consciences  as  aforesaid,  I  do  hereby  solemnlv  de- 
clare, promise,  and  grant,  for  me  and  my  heirs 


OF   WILLIAM   PENN.  323 

and  assigns,  that  the  first  article  of  this  Charter, 
relating  to  Liberty  of  Conscience,  and  every  part 
and  clause  therein,  according  to  the  true  meaning 
and  intent  thereof,  shall  be  kept  and  remain,  with- 
out any  alteration,  inviolably  for  ever." 

Here  then  we  see  him  again  under  the  sublime 
light  of  a  Christian  Legislator,  making  Liberty  of 
Conscience  the  grand  corner-stone  of  his  civil  edi- 
fice.    What  a  contrast  does  this  afford  to  the  con- 
duct of  those  who   have  legislated  in  this  depart- 
ment on  the  policy  of  the  world  !  The  one  appears 
to  have  been  actuated  by  the  spirit  of  Love,  Mer- 
cy, and  Peace  ;  the  others  by  that  of  Pride,  Pre- 
sumptuousness,   and  Revenge.      And  as  the  con- 
trast is  great  betv/een  them  as  it  relates  to  the  prin- 
ciple of  Legislation  on  this  subject,  so  it  is  equally 
great   as   it  relates  to  its   effects.      Behold  in   the 
one  case  happiness  diffused  throughout  the   land, 
and  on  the  other  misery  and  ruin  ;  behold  impri- 
sonments,  burnings,  deaths   in   various  shapes,  so 
that  volumes   are   filled  with  the  cries  and  groans 
of  martyrs  ;  in  the   survey  of  which  one    painful 
reflection  cannot  but  present  itself  to  our  minds, 
namely,  that  these  sufferings  were  not  con^.ned  to 
the   instrumentality  of    men   who    worshipped    in 
Heathen  temples,  or  in  the  Roman  Catholic  church. 
Nor  will  the  contrast  be  less,  if  we  look  at  the  ef- 
fects of  the  two  systems  in  another  pomt  of  view. 
Is  it  or  is  it  not  true,  that  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  have   left  their  respective   countries  in 
consequence  of  the  fear  of  persecution  for  religion  ? 


324  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

and  is  it  or  is  it  not  true,  that  thousands  and  tens  ot 
thousands  flocked,  on  the  account  of  the  prospect  of 
religious  liberty,  to  the  land  of  William  Penn  ?  In- 
deed it  is  to  this  great  principle  in  his  Government, 
and  to  this  principally,  that  historians  have  attribu- 
ted the  rapid  population  of  his  colony,  rapid  almost 
beyond  credibility,  and  certainly  beyond  example^, 
Anderson,  in  his  "  Historical  and  Chronological 
Deduction  of  the  Origin  of  Commerce,'^  when 
speaking  of  Pennsylvania,  writes  thus  :  "  The  same 
year  gave  rise  to  the  noble  English  colony  of  Penn- 
sylvania in  North  America. Mr.  William  Penn, 

an  eminent  Quaker,  and  a  gentleman  of  great  know- 
ledge and  true  philosophy,  had  it  granted  to  him  at 

this  time. He  carried  thither  with  him  a  large 

embarkation  of  Quakers,  afterwards  from  time  to 
time  joined  by  many  more  from  Britain  and  Ireland* 
On  his  first  arrival  there  he  found  man}^  English  fa- 
milies in  it,  and  considerable  numbers  of  Dutch  and 
Swedes,  who  all  readily  submitted  to  his  wise  and 
excellent  regulations,  which  highly  merit  to  be 
known  to  all  persons  who  would  apply  to  colonizing. 
The  true  wisdom  as  xvell  as  equity  of  his  unlimited 
toleration  of  all  religious  persuasions^  as  well  as  his 
kind,  just,  and  prudent  treatment  of  the  native  In- 
*  William  Penn  laid  out  the  plan  for  Philadelphia  in  1682- 
He  died  in  1718.  In  this  latter  year  Philadelphia  contained  about 
1400  houses,  and  10,000  inhabitants,  and  his  dominions,  alto- 
gether,  about  60,000  people.  In  1760,  when  Anderson's  book 
came  out,  there  were  about  3000  houses  in  Philadelphia,  20,000 
inhabitants,  and  altogether  in  towns,  cities,  and  country,  200,000 
people. 


OF  WILLIAM    VFN^'.  325 

dians,  also  his  Laws,  Policy,  and  Government,  so 
endeared  him  to  the  planters,  and  so  widel}^  spread 
the  fame  of  his  whole  oeconomy,  that,  although  so 
lately  planted^  it  is  thought  at  this  day  (about  the 
year  1760)  to  have  more  white  people  in  it^  than  any 
other  colony  on  all  the  continent  of  English  America^ 
New  England  alone  excepted.'^  Edmund  Burke, 
in  his  "  Account  of  the  European  Settlements  in 
America,''  speaks  much  in  the  same  manner. 
"  Neither  was  William  Penn  himself  wanting  in 
any  thing  which  could  encourage  them  ;  for  he  ex- 
pended large  sums  in  transporting  and  finding  them 
in  all  necessaries  ;  and  not  aiming  at  a  sudden  profit, 
he  disposed  of  his  land  at  a  very  light  purchase. 
But  what  crowned  all  was  that  noble  charter  of  pri- 
vileges, by  v/hich  he  made  them  as  free  as  any  peo- 
ple in  the  world,  and  which  has  since  drawn  such 
vast  numbers  of  so  many  different  persuasions  and 
such  various  countries  to  put  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  his  laws.  He  made  the  most  perfect 
freedom^  both  religious  and  civil^  the  basis  of  his  es* 
tablishment ;  and  this  has  done  more  towards  the 
settling  of  the  Province^  and  towards  the  settling  of 
itinastrong  and  permanent  manner^  than  the  wisest 
regulations  could  have  done  on  any  other  plan.  All 
persons,  who  profess  to  believe  in  one  God,  are  free- 
ly tolerated.  Those  who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ, 
of  whatever  denomination,  are  not  excluded  from 
employments  and  posts.^'  Jedidiah  Morse,  in  his 
^'  American  Geography,"  throws  out  a  sentiment  to 
the  same  purport.  "  By  the  favourable  terms  which 
VOL.  II.  F  f 


326  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Mr.  Penn  ofFt-red  to  settlers,  and  an  ujilimited  tole- 
ration of  all  religious  denominations^  the  population 
of  the  Province  was  extremely  rapid^'^  I  may  quote 
also  John  Gough  on  the  occasion,  in  his  "  History 
of  the  People  called  Quakers  from  their  first  Rise 

to  the  present  Time." "  That  the  welfare,"  says 

he,  "  and  happiness  of  the  people  is  the  end  of  Go- 
vernment, is  a  proposition  maintained  in  theory  in 
other  States,  but  in  Pennsylvania  it  was  reduced  to 
practice.  A  Government  established  on  so  equita- 
ble, liberal,  and  useful  a  plan  induced  great  numbers 
of  people  of  different  persuasions  to  emigrate  from 
various  countries  to  participate  in  the  privileges  and 
felicity  of  this  equal  Government,  the  basis  of  which 
zvas  religious  and  civil  liberty  :  and  for  a  length  of 
time,  under  the  pleasing  sensation  of  the  ease,  secu- 
rity, and  change  for  the  better,  which  they  felt  from 
their  removal  hither,  people  of  different  nations, 
complexions,  and  ways  of  thinking  lived  together  in 
a  state  of  society  beautiful  in  prospect,  and  happy 
enjoyment  in  mutually  giving  and  receiving  the  be- 
nefit of  an  equality  of  privileges  in  peace,  amity,  and 
benevolence,  although  not  belonging  to  the  same  vi- 
sible church,  yet  as  belonging  to  the  same  fraternity 
of  mankind." 

Another  survey  of  William  Penn  as  a  Christian 
Legislator  may  be  taken  from  the  consideration  of 
some  of  his  criminal  laws.  There  are  two,  which 
particularly  claim  our  notice  upon  this  subject.  I'he 
first  of  these  abolished  the  punishment  of  deaths  ex- 
cept in  the  case,  where  "  whosoever  shed  man's 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  327 

blood,  by  man  should  his  blood  be  shed."  The  se- 
cond ordained,  thCit  all  prisons  should  be  workshops. 
By  these  two  laws  it  is  obvious  that  he  afforded  a 
Christian  pattern  for  legislation,  for  on^  of  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  he  proceeded  therein,  was  the  re- 
formation of  the  offender.  By  taking  away  his  life, 
all  hope  of  this  was  destroyed.  By  sparing  it,  op- 
portuiiity  was  given  him  for  amendment,  and  this 
opportunity  was  to  be  improved  by  the  introduction 
of  habits  of  industry.  The  author  of  '^  The  Picture 
of  Philadelphia,"  in  speaking  of  the  first  of  these 
laws,  writes  thus  :  '^  The  humanity  of  William 
Penn  revolted  at  the  sanguinary  punishments  of  Bri- 
tain, and  he  therefore  attempted  an  amelioration  of 
the  penal  code.  He  abolished  the  ancient  oppres- 
sion of  forfeitures  for  self-murder,  and  deodands  in 
all  cases  of  homicide.  He  saw  the  w^ickedness  of 
exterminating,  where  it  was  possible  to  reform.  He 
endeavoured,  therefore,  to  prevent  the  operation  of 
the  system-,  which  the  Charter  imposed,  and  amongst 
the  fir^t  cares  of  his  administration  was  that  of  form- 
ing a  small,  concise,  but  complete  code  of  criminal 
law.  Murder  wilful  and  premeditated  is  the  only 
crime  for  which  the  infliction  of  death  is  prescribed, 
and  this  is  declared  to  be  enacted  in  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  God,  as  though  there  had  not  been  any  poli- 
tical necessity  even  for  the  punishment ;  but  no  man 
could  be  convicted  but  upon  the  testimony  of  two^ 
witnesses.  Execution  also  was  to  be  stayed,  till  the 
record  of  conviction  had  been  laid  before  the  Exe- 
cutive, and  full  opportunity  given  to  obtain  a  pardon. 


328  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

for  the  ofFence."     These  were  undoubtedly  the  sen- 
timents of  William  Penn.  .  Ht  saxv^  as  this  author 
observes,  the  wickedness  of  exterminating^  where  it 
xvas  possible  to  refoi^m.     He  considered  the  punish- 
ment of  death,  in  all  other  cases  but  murder,  as  barba-  , 
rous  both  in  its  origin,  its  manner,  and  its  effects.  He 
conceived  there  xvas  no  xuarrant  in  Christianity  to 
legislators  to  take  axuay  life  at  all.    The  great  end  of 
punishment  was  undoubtedly  to  deter ^  or  to  prevent 
others  from  the  commission  of  crimes  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  was  the  great  object  of  the  Christian 
religion   to   reclaim.     Christ  came  principally  for 
this  purpose  upon  earth.     He  came  to  call  sinners 
to  repentance.     He  came,  not  to  destroy,  but  to 
save.     There  was  more  joy  in  Heaven  over  one  sin- 
ner that  repented,  than  over  ninety-nine  just  per- 
sons, who  needed  no  repentance.     He  conceived, 
therefore,  that  it  was  the  duty  of  a  Christian  legis- 
lator so  to  blend  both  these  objects,  that  they  might 
go  hand  in  hand  together  ;  and  he  was  convinced, 
that  they  were  compatible  with  each  other,  because 
there  were   other  modes   of    punishments,    which 
would  deter  equally  with  that  of  death.     Here  then 
we  are  enabled  to  compare  him  again  with  the  legis- 
lator on  the  policy  of  the  world.     How  mean  and 
little,  how  wanting  in  generosity  and  intellect,  does 
the  latter  appear  beside  him  !     He  consigns  hun- 
dreds of  his  fellow-creatures  to  an  untimely  death, 
and  this  for  an  hundred  offences.     His  system  em- 
braces no  one  principle  that  is  amiable.     It  has  no 
vitals— no  bowels,— it  discovers  no  feeling  for  his 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN#  329 

fellow-man ;  no  brotherly  love  towards  him ;  no  re- 
gard for  him  as  a  rational  and  moral  being  ;  no  con- 
cern for  his  eternal  interests.  It  views  him  only  as 
a  beast,  whom,  if  he  be  noxious,  he  must  destroy; 
because,  having  no  reason,  he  has  not  that,  by  which 
he  can  either  be  deterred  or  reclaimed. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  enter  into  a 
comparison  between  the  merits  of  the  two  systems. 
It  will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  effects  of  that  which 
was  suggested  by  William  Penn.  These  however 
we  shall  not  be  able  to  see,  until  we  know  how  the 
two  laws,  which  gave  birth  to  it,  were  afterwards 
improved  upon,  and  to  what  length  they  were  carri- 
ed. I  may  observe  then,  that  they  were  both  of 
them  in  use  in  Pennsylvania  till  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne.  In  the  year  1705  she  abolished  the  merciful 
one  which  spared  the  life  of  the  criminal  on  so  many 
occasions,  as  not  consonant  with  the  English  law% 
She  restored  it  however  shortly  afterwards,  and 
probably  at  the  intercession  of  William  Penn,  and 
it  continued  in  force  for  many  years,  or  till  the  time 
of  his  death.  After  this  event  the  statute  and  common 
law  of  the  mother  country  was  again  put  into  its 
place,  and  this  statute  and  common  law  was  then  act* 
ed  upon  contrary  to  the  judgment  and  wishes  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania,  till  after  the  Revolu- 
tion in  British  America  and  its  consequent  indepen- 
dence. At  this  epoch  an  opporcunity  being  given 
to  each  State  to  make  its  own  laws,  the  Pennsylvani- 
ans  restored  it  to  its  native  station,  and  placed  it  on 
a  glorious  permanency.  They  were  ncv/  enabled  to 
Ff2' 


;i30  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

do  justice  to  all  the  legislative  propositions  of  their 
fpunder,  by  allowing  them  their  full  scope.  Ac- 
cordingly they  revised  the  other  law  before  mention- 
ed, namely,  that  zvhich  placed  all  prisons  upon  the 
footing  of  -workshops ;  and  bearing  this  idea  in  their 
minds,  they  produced  at  length  a  system  of  crimi- 
nal jurisprudence,  by  means  of  the  two,  which  stands 
unparalleled  as  to  excellence  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  By  this  system,  as  it  obtains  at  the  present 
day,  it  appears  that  wilful  and  premeditated  mur- 
der is  the  only  capital  offence  in  Pennsylvania.  All 
other  crimes  are  punished  by  fine,  imprisonment^ 
and  labour.  All  convicted  criminals  are  expected 
to  maintain  themselves  out  of  their  own  labour,  as 
well  as  to  defray  the  expenses  of  their  commitment, 
prosecution,  and  trial.  Accordingly,  an  account 
is  regularly  kept  against  them ;  and  if,  when  the 
term  of  their  imprisonment  is  expired,  any  surplus 
money  is  due  to  them  on  account  of  their  work,  it 
is  given  to  them  on  their  discharge.  The  price  of 
prison-labour  in  its  various  departments  is  settled  by 
the  inspectors  of  the  gaol  and  those  who  employ  the 
criminals.  No  corporal  punishment  is  allowed  in 
the  prison,  nor  can  any  criminal  be  put  in  irons,  it 
being  the, object  not  to  degrade  him,  but  to  induce 
him  to  be  constantly  looking  up  to  the  restoration  of 
his  dignity  as  a  man,  and  to  the  recovery  of  his  mo- 
ral character.  No  intercourse  is  allowed  between 
the  males  and  the  females,  nor  between  the  untried 
and  convicted  prisoners.  All  unnecessary  conver- 
sation is  forbidden.      Profane  swearing  is  never 


OF   VJ^VLX.XA'M,  PENN.  331 

overlooked.  A  watch  is  kept,  that  no  spirituous  li- 
quors be  introduced.  Care  is  taken,  that  all  the 
prisoners  have  the  benefit  of  religious  instruction* 
The  prison  is  accordingly  open  at  stated  times  to 
the  pastors  of  the  diiFerent  religious  denominations 
of  the  place.  A  hope  is  held  out  to  the  prisoners^ 
that  th^  time  of  their  confinement  may  be  shortened 
by  their  good  behaviour.  To  realize  this,  the  in- 
spectors have  a  power  of  interceding  for  their  en- 
largement, and  the  executive  Government  of  grant- 
ing it,  if  they  think  it  proper.  If  they  are  refrac- 
tory, they  are  put  into  solitary  confinement,  and 
deprived  of  the  opportunity  of  working.  During 
all  this  time  the  expenses  of  their  maintenance  are 
going  on,  so  that  they  have  an  interest  in  returning 
to  their  obedience,  and  the  sooner  the  better;  for 
the  sooner  they  get  into  employment  again  the  sooner 
they  are  enabled  to  liquidate  the  debt,  which,  since  the 
suspension  of  their  labour,  has  been  accruing  on  ac- 
count of  their  bpard  and  washing  to  the  gaol. 
These  are  the  present  regulations ;  the  consequence 
of  which  is,  that  they  who  visit  the  criminals  in  the 
gaol  of  Philadelphia,  seeing  no  chains  or  fetters,  but 
industry  going  on  unshackled  in  various  depart- 
ments, have  no  other  idea  of  it  than  of  a  free  work- 
shop, or  of  a  large  and  general  manufactory,  where 
people  have  consented  to  work  together,  or  to  follow 
in  the  same  place  their  respective  trades.  In  con- 
sequence of  these  regulations,  great  advantages 
have  arisen  both  to  the  criminals  ^nd  to  the  State. 
The  State,  it  is  said,  has  experienced  a  dimmution 


332  MEMOIRS    OF   THE    LIFE 

of  crimes  to  the  amount  of  one  half  since  this 
change  in  the  penal  system,  and  the  criminals  have 
been  restored  in  a  great  proportion  from  the  gaol  to 
the  community  as  reformed  persons.  Hence,  little 
or  no  stigma  has  been  attached  to  them  after  their 
discharge  for  having  been  confined  there.  They, 
indeed,  who  have  had  permission  to  leave  it  before 
the  time  expressed  in  the  sentence,  have  been  con- 
sidered as  persons  not  unfit  to  be  taken  into  fami- 
lies, or  confidentially  employed.  It  may  be  observ- 
ed also,  that  sorre  of  the  most  orderly  and  indus- 
trious, and  such  as  have  worked  at  the  most  profita- 
ble trades,  have  had  sums  of  money  to  take  on 
leaving  the  prison,  by  which  they  have  been  enabled 
to  maintain  themselves  till  they  have  got  into  desi- 
rable and  permanent  employ.  Here  then  is  a  code 
of  penal  law  built  upon  the  Christian  principle  of 
the  reformation  of  the  offender.  To  dwell  longer 
upon  its  merits  would  be  useless.  Let  it  only  be 
remembered,  that  this  system  obtains  no  where  but 
in  Pennsylvania^  and  that  it  is  the  direct  germ ^  only 
trained  up  by  other  hands,  of  the  root  that  -was  plan- 
ted in  the  Constitution  of  that  country  by  William 
Penn. 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN*  333 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


View  of  him  as  a  statesman  upon  Christian  princi- 
ples as  it  relates  to  aliens  or  foreigners— jirst^  as 
to  Dutch  and  Swedes — secondly^  as  to  the  abori- 
gines or  Indians — his  Christian  object  in  con- 
necting himself  with  these — his  Christian  conduct 
towards  them — honourable  arid  grateful  result  to 
him  and  his  followers  from  the  same — object  and 
conduct  of  those  towards  the  same  who  have  pro- 
ceeded upon  the  policy  of  the  world — miserable  re* 
suit  to  the  latter — peculiar  reason  of  this  result^^ 
his  object  in  the  way  of  being  accomplished  by  his 
descendants — thirdly  as  to  the  Negroes  or  Slaves 
^-^his  Christian  conduct  towards  these — happy  ef- 
fects of  the  same — misery  produced  by  those  who 
have  had  any  concern  with  them  on  the  principle 
of  the  policy  of  the  world. 

We  have  seen  William  Penn  in  the  character  of 
a  Statesman  as  it  relates  to  the  governed.  We  are 
now  to  see  him  as  he  conducted  himself  in  a  similar 
capacity  towards  aliens  or  strangers.  Of  these  the 
first  were  the  Dutch  and  Swedes,  who  inhabited  the 
Territories  which  had  been  ceded  to  him  by  the 
Duke  of  York,  and  of  whom  I  shall  say  no  more, 
than  that  on  his  first  arrival  in  Pennsylvania  he  com- 
prehended all  of  them  in  one  great  Bill  of  Naturali- 
zation, admitting  them  to  all  the  civil  and  religious 


^34  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

privileges  which  those  of  his  own  countrymen  en> 
joyed  who  had  been  the  companions  of  his  voyage. 

Among  the  aliens  or  foreigners  more  particularly 
to  be  noticed  we  may  first  reckon  the  Indians  ;  for, 
though  they  were  the  natives,  indeed  the  aborigines, 
of  the  country,  they  were  yet  aliens  with  respect  to 
him.  And  here  we  shall  find  him  treading  in  the 
same  Christian  path  as  before,  and  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  again  contrasting  the  Statesman  of  the 
Gospel  with  that  of  the  mere  Politician  of  the 
World. 

The  great  object  which  William  Penn  had  in 
view,  in  connecting  himself  with  the  Indians,  wa3 
that  which  was  expressed  in  the  Charter,  namely, 
"  to  reduce  the  savage  Nations  by  just  and  gentle 
manners  to  the  love  of  civil  society  and  the  Chris- 
tian religion."  A  nobler  object,  or  one  of  more  di- 
vine origin,  or  one  more  full  of  philanthropy  or 
love,  never  occupied  the  human  heart.  It  was 
founded  on  peace  and  good-will  to  man.  It  was  to 
bring  heathen  nations  from  darkness  to  light,  to 
teach  them  to  become- honest  and  useful  members  of 
society,  and  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  Christ's 
kingdom.  The  very  thought  was  as  bold  as  it  was 
lovely.  It  soared  above  all  obstacle  or  danger.  It 
comprehended  at  once  a  trust  in  Providence,  which 
seemed  to  assure  him,  at  the  moment,  of  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  design. 

The  means  proposed  to  be  used  were,  it  appears, 
as  pure  and  as  amiable  as  the  object.  How  far  he 
adopted  them,  we  shall  be  enabled  to  see  by  look 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  335 

kig  over  these  Memoirs  ;  and  these  will  furnish  us 
with  the  following  connected  account.  In  the  Con- 
ditions made  and  signed  between  the  Adventurers 
and  himself  it  was  stipulated,  before  any  man  was 
allowed  to  sail  to  the  New  Land,  that  whatever  was 
to  be  sold  to  the  Indians  in  consideration  of  their 
furs  should  be  sold  in  the  public  market-place,  and 
there  suffer  the  test  wheiher  good  or  bad  ;  if  good, 
to  pass  ;  if  not  good,  not  to  be  sold  for  good,  that 
the  natives  might  not  be  abused  or  provoked  ;  that 
no  Adventurer  or  Planter  should  in  word  or  deed 
wrong  any  Indian,  but  he  should  incur  the  same  pe- 
nalty of  the  Law  as  if  he  had  committed  it  against 
his  Fellow- Adventurer  or  Planter  ;  that  if  any  In- 
dian should  abuse  in  word  or  deed  any  Adventurer 
or  Planter  of  the  Province,  the  said  Adventurer  or 
Planter  should'not  be  his  own  judge  upon  the  said 
Indian,  but  lay  his  complaint  before  the  Magistra- 
cy ;  and  that  all  differences  between  the  two  should 
be  ended  by  twelve  men,  that  is,  six  Adventurers  or 
Planters  and  six  Indians.  Having  signed  these 
Conditions,  they  were  at  liberty  to  sail.  Among 
the  passengers  in  the  ships  were  Commissioners. 
As  his  religious  principles  did  not  permit  him  to 
look  upon  the  King's  Patent,  or  legal  possession  ac- 
cording to  the  Laws  of  England,  as  sufficient  to  es- 
tablish his  right  to  the  Country,  without  purchasing 
it  by  fair  and  open  bargain  of  the  natives,  to  whom 
alone  it  properly  belonged,  he  instructed  these  to 
pav  for  whatever  portions  the  latter  might  be  willing 
to  dispose  of.     He  instructed  them  also  to  confirm 


336  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

with  them  a  league  of  eternal  peace,  and  to  treat 
them  with  all  possible  candour,  justice,  and  huma- 
nity. In  a  letter  sent  to  them  by  die  same  Com- 
missioners, he  expressed  his  desire  to  enjoy  the 
Land  only  with  their  love  and  consent,  and  to  gain 
their  love  and  friendship  only  by  a  kind,  just,  and 
peaceable  life.  When  the  Commissioners  and  Set- 
tlers landed,  they  erected  no  forts,  nor  carried  any 
hostile  weapon.  When  afterwards  in  1682  he  ar- 
rived himself,  he  exhibited  the  same  inoffensive  ap- 
pearance, and  the  same  confidence  in  their  justice. 
At  the  Great  Treaty  both  he  and  all  his  Followers 
appeared  equally  defenceless,  and  this  amidst  a  na- 
tion in  arms.  "  It  was  not  his  custom,"  he  said, 
"  to  use  weapons  of  destruction  against  his  fellow- 
creatures  ;  for  which  reason  he  had  come  unarmed. 
He  and  his  Friends  had  a  hearty  desire  to  live  in 
peace  and  friendship  with  them,  and  to  serve  them 
to  the  utmost  of  their  power.  He  should  consider 
them  as  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood  with  the  Chris- 
tians, and  the  same  as  if  one  man's  body  was  to  be 
divided  into  two  parts."  In  his  second  voyage  in 
1 700 he  renewed  his  former  treatment  towards  them. 
He  showed  the  same  regard  to  justice  in  all  his  deal- 
ings with  them,  and  the  same  tender  care  and  con- 
cern for  them  both  as  to  their  temporal  and  spiritual 
welfare.  Accordingly  he  proposed  to  his  own 
Monthly  Meeting  in  the  same  year  means,  which 
were  acceded  to,  for  a  more  frequent  intercourse 
between  them  and  Friends,  he  taking  upon  himself 
the  manner  of  it  as  well  as  the  charge  of  procuring 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  337 

interpreters  for  thcf  purpose.  Soon  after  this  he  in- 
troduced a  legislative  Act,  which  was  to  be  binding 
upon  all,  both  in  the  Province  and  Territories,  for 
preventing  abuses  upon  them  ;  and  though  he  did 
not  carry  it,  both  his  justice  and  his  good-will  to- 
wards them  were  equally  manifested  by  it.  His  in- 
tercourse, however,  with  them  became  purposely 
more  frequent  after  this  period,  and  it  was  always 
directed  towards  their  good.  In  the  year  following 
he  conferred  with  his  Council  as  to  the  best  means 
of  keeping  up  a  friendly,  useful,  and  moral  commu- 
nication with  them,  as  far  as  the  Executive  could  do 
it.  Hence  persons  were  selected  for  their  integrity 
to  form  a  Company  with  a  joint  stock,  and  to  be  au- 
thorised by  the  Government  to  trade  with  them. 
These  were  to  keep  them  from  spirituous  liquors  as 
much  as  possible,  and  to  use  all  reasonable  means  to 
bring  them  to  a  true  sense  of  the  value  of  Christi- 
anity, but  particularly  by  setting  before  them  exam- 
ples of  probity  and  candour,  and  to  have  them  in- 
structed in  the  fundamentals  of  it :  in  short,  they 
were  to  make  their  trading  concerns  with  them  sub- 
servient to  the  promotion  of  the  Christian  religion. 
When  he  took  his  leave  of  them  before  he  departed 
for  England  the  last  time,  he  said  with  much  ten- 
derness, "  that  he  had  always  loved  them  and  been 
kind  to  them,  and  ever  should  continue  so  to  be,  not 
through  any  politic  design,  but  from  a  most  real  af- 
fection." He  then  charged  the  Members  of  the 
Council  to  behave  to  them  v/ith  all  courtesy  and  de- 
monstrations of  good-will,  as  himself  had  ever 
VOL.  II.  G  g 


338  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

done  ;  and  having  received  from  these  an  assurance 
that  his  request  should  be  complied  with,  he  took 
his  final  leave  of  them. 

It  is  a  law  of  our  nature,  where  benefits  have  been 
generously  conferred,  that  there  is  a  disposition  to 
return  tlfem  ;  and  gratitude,  it  will  appear  by  the 
sequel,  is  not  excluded  from  the  hearts  of  those  who 
live  in  an  uncivilized  state  of  society,  or  who  are  re- 
puted barbarous.  It  was  an  observation  of  William 
Penn,  with  respect  to  the  Indians,  *'  Do  not  abuse 
them,  but  let  them  have  but  justice,  and  you  win 
them,  where  there  is  such  a  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil."  It  will  be  pleasing,  therefore,  to  record  what 
return  they  made  him  for  all  the  care  and  kindness 
which  he  had  bestowed  upon  them  ;  and  this  will 
appear  so  great,  I  may  say  so  unexampled,  that 
either  his  own  munificence  must  have  been  of  much 
larger  dimensions  than  we  have  been  accustomed 
to  see,  or  their  hearts  must  have  beaten  with  a 
pulse  which  has  seldom  vibrated  in  the  human 
breast. 

I  may  observe  then,  that  the  first  result  of  his 
treatment  of  them  showed  itself  in  a  grateful  re- 
turn on  their  part  by  kind  and  friendly  offices  both 
to  himself  and  followers.  They  became  indeed  the 
benefactors  of  the  Colonists.  When  the  latter 
were  scattered  abroad  in  1682,  and  without  houses 
or  food,  the  Indians,  as  I  have  before  shown,  werC 
remarkably  kind  and  attentive  to  them.  They 
hunted  for  them  frequently,  doing  their  utmost  to 
feed  them.     Th.ev  considered  them  all  4s  the  chil- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  oo\) 

dren  of  William  Penn  ;  and,  looking  upon  him 
ever  since  the  Great  Treaty  as  their  Father,  they 
treated  them  as  Brothers.  Richard  Townsend, 
who  has  been  before  mentioned,  confirms  the  above 
account.  "  And  as  our  worthy  Proprietor,"  says 
he,  "  treated  the  Indians  with  extraordinary  hu- 
manity, they  became  very  civil  and  loving  to  us, 
and  brought  us  in  abundance  of  venison."  As  to 
William  Penn  himself,  "  having  now  such  an  one 
as  he,"  they  said,  "  they  would  never  do  him  any 
wrong."  Some  of  the  Kings  even  presented  him 
with  parcels  of  land  ;  and  in  the  year  1701,  which 
was  the  last  of  his  residence  among  them,  several 
of  the  Tribes,  on  hearing  that  he  was  going  to  leave 
the  country,  left  their  woods,  and  went  purposely 
down  to  Philadelphia  to  take  their  leave  of  him, 
as  a  mark  of  respect  and  gratitude  to  their  greatest 
human  benefactor. 

A  second  result  was  manifested  in  their  peace- 
ful and  affectionate  conduct  towards  the  Settlers, 
so  that  the  latter  had  no  fear,  though  in  a  defence- 
less state,  for  their  personal  safety,  but  lived  among 
them,  though  reputed  savages,  as  among  their  besc 
friends  and  protectors.  ^'  As  in  other  countries," 
continues  the  same  Richard  Townsend,  "  the  In- 
dians were  exasperated  by  hard  treatment-,  which 
hath  been  the  foundation  of  much  bloodshed,  so  ^the 
contrary  treatment  here  by  our  worthy  Proprietor 
hath  produced  their  love  and  affection."  We  find 
by  a  manuscript  written  by  a  passenger  in  one  of 
the  vessels  which  carried  over  some  of  the  first  Set- 


340  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

tiers,  the  following  account :  "  A  providential' 
Hand  was  very  conspicuous  and  remarkable  in  many 
instances  which  might  be  mentioned. — The  Indians 
v/ere  even  rendered  our  benefactors  and  protec- 
tors.— Without  any  carnal  weapon  we  entered  the 
land,  and  inhabited  therein  as  safe  as  if  there  had 
been  thousands  of  Garrisons."  Again  :  '^  This 
'little  State,"  says  Oldmixon,  "  subsisted  in  the 
midst  of  six  Indian  nations  without  so  much  as  a 
militia  for  its  defence."  And  this  peaceable  State, 
says  Proud,  "  was  never  interrupted  for  more  than 
seventy  years,  or  so  long  as  the  Quakers  retained 
power  in  the  government  sufficient  to  influence  a 
friendly  and  just  conduct  towards  them,  and  to 
prevent  or  redress  such  misunderstandings  and 
grievances  as  occasionally  happened  between  them 
and  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Province."  To 
this  it  may  be  added,  that  as  far  as  the  Indians 
and  Quakers  (who  may  be  considered  as  the  de- 
scendants of  William  Penn)  were  concerned,  the 
Great  Treaty  xuas  never  violated^  a  good  under- 
standing subsisting  at  this  moment  between  them 
and  the  descendants  of  the  original  tribes. 

A  third  result  was  seen  in  the  extraordinary  re- 
gard which  the  Indians  preserved  for  the  memory 
of  William  Penn  after  he  had  left  them,  and  which 
appears  to  have  been  handed  down  from  father  to 
son  in  a  manner  so  lively  and  impressive,  that  it 
will  be  difficult  ever  to  eradicate  it  from  their 
minds.  In  the  year  1721,  that  is,  twenty  years  af- 
ter he  had  left  the  Province,  a  conference  was  held 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  341 

at  Conestogo  between  the  five  nations,  consisting 
of  the  Maquase,  the  Oneidas,  the  Onondagoes. 
the  Cayougas,  and  the  Senecas,  and  Sir  William 
Keith,  who  was  then  Governor  of  Pennsylvania:. 
The  Chief  Speaker  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  said, 
among  other  things,  with  a  countenance  which 
showed  great  respect,  "  that  they  should  never  Jor- 
get  the  counsel  which  William  Penn  gave  them; 
and  that,  though  they  could  not  write  as  the  Eng- 
lish did,  yet  they  could  keep  in  their  memory  what 
was  said  in  their  Councils*" 

In  the  following  year,  that  is,  in  1722,  the  same 
five  nations  held  another  conference  with  Sir  Wil- 
liam Keith.  They  met  then  at  Albany.  Sir  Wil- 
liam laid  his  business  before  them.  The  Chief  of 
the  Indians  made  a  reply  in  behalf  of  those  assem- 
bled. The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  speech  : 
*'  Brother  Onas  !  You  have  told  us  that  at  the  time 
you  brightened  the  covenant  chain  between  us,  you 
wished  it  might  be  clear  and  lasting  as  the  sun  and 
stars  in  heaven,  for  which  v/e  thank  you.  And 
we  being  now  all  present  do  in  the  most  solemn  and 
public  manner  renew  the  covenant,  and  brighten 
the  chain  made  between  us,  that  the  lustre  thereof 
may  never  be  obscured  by  any  clouds  or  darkness, 
but  may  shine  as  clear  and  last  as  long  as  the  sun  in 
the  firmament.  Brother  Onas !  You  have  like- 
wise told  us  how  William  Penn,  who  was  a  good 
?2ian^  did  at  ht^  first  settlement  of  the  province  of 
Pennsylvania  make  leagues  ■-:'  friendship  with  the 
Indians  and  treated  them  like  brethren,  and  jhat, 
Gg2 


342  MEMOIRS    OV    THE    LIFE 

Hie  the  same  good  ?na?i^  he  left  it  in  charge  to  all 
his  Governors  who  should  succeed  him,  and  to  all 
the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  that  they  should  al- 
ways keep  the  covenants  and  treaties  which  he 
made  with  the  five  nations,  and  treat  them  with 
love  and  kindness.  We  acknowledge  that  his  Go- 
vernors and  people  have  ahvays  kept  the  same 
honestly  and  truly  to  this  day  ;  so  we  on  our  part 
always  have  kept  and  for  ever  shall  keep  firm  peace 
and  friendship  with  a  good  heart  to  all  the  people 
of  Pennsylvania.  We  thankfully  receive  and  ap- 
prove of  all  the  articles  in  your  proposition  to  us, 
and  acknowledge  them  to  be  good  and  full  of  love. 
We  receive'  and  approve  of  the  same  with  our 
whole  hearts,  because  we  are  not  only  made  one 
people  by  the  covenant  chain,  but  "we  also  are  peo- 
ple united  in  one  head,  one  body,  and  one  heart, 
by  the  strongest  ties  of  love  and  friendship.  Bro- 
ther Onas !  We  say  further,  rve  are  glad  to  hear 
the  former  treaties  made  with  William  Penn  re* 
peated  to  us  again ^  and  renexved  by  you^  and  we 
esteem  and  lo'oe  you  as  if  you  were  William  Penn 
himself^"^ 

In  the  year  1742  a  treaty  was  made  at  Philadel- 
phia by  George  Thomas,  Esq.  then  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania,  with  the  six  nations,  when  Canas- 
satego.  Chief  of  the  Onondagoes,  said,  '^  We  are 
all  very  sensible  of  the  kind  regard  xvliich  that  good 
man^  William  Penn^  had  for  all  the  Indians.'*'^ 

At  a  Council  held  with  the  Seneca  and  other  In- 
dians in  Philadelphia  in  1749,  in  the  Administra- 


ar   WILLIAM   PBNiv%  343 

tion  of  James  Humilton,  Esq.,  Ogaushtash  in  a 
part  of  his  speech  thus  expressed  himself:  We  re- 
commend it  to  the  Governor  to  iread  in  the  steps 
of  those  xuise  people  who  have  held  the  reins  of  go^ 
vernment  before  him^  ht  being  good  and  kind  to  the 
Indians.  Do,  Brother,  make  it  your  study  to  con- 
sult the  interest  of  our  nations.  As  you  have  so 
large  an  authority,  you  can  do  us  much  good  or 
harm.  We  would  therefore  engage  your  influence 
and  affections  for  us,  that  the  same  harmony  and 
mutual  affection  may  subsist  during  your  govern- 
ment, which  so  happily  subsisted  in  former  times  ; 
nay^  from  the  first  settlement  of  this  Province  by 
our  good  friend  the  great  William  Penn*'^ 

At  a  treaty  held  at  Easton  in  Pennsylvania  with 
the  Indians  in  1756,  during  the  Administration  of 
Governor  Morris,  Teedyuscung,  the  Delaware 
Chief,  spoke  as  follows :  '^  Brother  Onas,  and  the 
people  of  Pennsylvania  !  We  rejoice  to  hear  from 
you,  that  you  are  willing  to  renew  the  ancient  good 
understandings  and  that  you  call  to  mind  the  first 
treaties  of  friendship  made  by  Onas^  our  great 
Friend^  deceased  with  our  forefathers,  when  him- 
self and  his  people  first  came  over  here.  We  take 
hold  of  these  treaties  with  both  our  hands,  and  de- 
sire you  will  do  the  same,  that  a  good  understand- 
ing and  true  friendship  may  be  re-established. 
Let  us  both  take  hold  of  these  treaties,  we  beseech 
you :  we  on  our  side  will  certainly  do  it." 

Again,  on  concluding  a  peace  in  July,  the  same 
year,  Teedyuscung  said,  *'  I  wish  the  same  good 


344  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    Lift 

Spirit,  that  possessed  the  good  old  man  William  Penn^ 
who  was  a  friend  to  the  Indians^  may  inspire  the 
people  of  this  Province  at  this  time," 

In  this  manner  I  might  go  on  by  extracting  from 
the  speeches  made  at  the  Indian  treaties  for  a  longer 
period.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  Indians  perpetu- 
ated the  memory  of  William  Penn  by  giving  the 
name  of  Onas  to  every  succeeding  Governor  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  that  they  called  the  Quakers,  his 
descendants,  either  Brothers  Onas,  or  the  Sons  of 
the  Friends  of  Onas,  at  the  present  day. 

Having  now  seen  William  Penn  in  the  character 
of  a  Christian  Statesman  as  he  was  concerned  with 
one  of  the  classes  of  aliens  in  his  dominions ;  that  is, 
having  seen  his  object  in  connecting  himself  with 
these,  and  the  means  which  he  employed  to  promote 
it ;  and  having  witnessed  the  brilliant  result  of  his 
endeavours  both  as  to  himself  and  his  followers,  I 
must  inquire  into  the  motives,  conduct,  and  success 
of  those  Statesmen  who  have  visited  foreigners  and 
made  establishments  among  them,  but  who  have 
proceeded  on  the  old  plan  of  political  expediency, 
or,  as  the  phrase  more  usually  is,  on  the  policy  of 
the  world. 

It  is  a  grievous  matter  to  be  obliged  to  begin  with 
stating,  that,  though  Christianity  has  been  preached 
nearly  two  thousand  years,  I  know  of  no  Prince, 
Statesman,  or  Governor,  who  has  opened  an  inter- 
course with  barbarous  nations  for  the  sole  and  ex- 
press purpose  "  of  reducing  (as  William  Penn's 
Charter  expresses  it)  the  savage  natives  to  the  lov^ 


OP    WILLIAM    PENN.  345 

©f  civil  society  and  the  Christian  religion ;"  or  (as 
his  Petition  for  the  same  has  it)  "  of  promoting  the 
glory  of  God  by  the  conversion  of  the  Gentiles  to 
Christ's  kingdom."  Good  men,  I  mean  individ- 
uals, have  visited  foreign  lands  with  this  amiable 
view,  and  have  exposed  themselves  to  hardships  and 
dangers,  and  indeed  have  given  up  their  lives  to  the 
cause.  Witness  the  Moravians  and  other  estima- 
ble persons.  But  among  the  Governments  of  the 
world  since  the  Christian  aera,  no  one,  that  I  have 
heard  of,  ever  made  an  establishment  among  unen- 
lightened nations  for  this  especial  purpose.  Their 
object  has  been  generally  avarice  or  ambition,  or,  in 
other  words,  to  promote  conquest  or  extend  trade. 
Need  I  bring  in  proof  of  this  the  early  history  of 
our  own  establishments  in  Africa  and  Asia,  that 
those  by  the  Dutch  on  the  same  continents,  that  of 
of  those  by  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese  in  Af- 
rica and  South  America,  or  that  of  those  by 
others  professing  the  Christian  name?  It  would 
seem  therefore  as  if  William  Penn  stood  alone  as  a 
Statesman  in  the  promotion  of  the  object  as  now  ex- 
plained. Not  even  in  the  neighbouring  colonies  of 
North  America,  settled  there  either  prior  to  or 
about  this  period,  had  any  one  of  the  founders  the 
same  views  in  this  respect  as  William  Penn.  Some 
•migrated  there  under  leaders  or  governors  purely 
upon  motives  of  speculation.  Others,  it  must  be 
admitted,  did  the  same  with  a  raote  laudable  inten- 
tion, both  of  affording  and  of  finding  an  asylum 
from  religious  persecution,  and  of  establishing  re- 


346  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

ligious  freedom.  But  these  advantages  were  whol- 
ly for  themselves^  or  for  those  who  forwarded  the 
adventure.  The  benefit  of  the  natives,  among 
whom  they  were  to  settle,  was  never  included  in  the 
account. 

The  conduct  too,  which  they  manifested  after 
their  arrival  there,  did  not  consist  of  "  those  just 
and  gentle  manners"  which  the  Pennsylvanian  Char- 
ter prescribed.  The  first  thing  they  did  was  to 
raise  forts,  to  make  a  show  with  their  arms,  to  ex- 
ercise themselves  in  the  same,  and  to  present  them- 
selves, though  few  in  number,  under  the  aspect  of  a 
warlike  and  formidable  people.  Having  secured 
themselves  in  this  manner,  they  too  frequently  took 
advantage  of  the  ignorance  of  the  natives.  They 
tried  rather  to  outwit  them  than  to  be  just.  For 
this  purpose  they  introduced  spirituous  liquors  a- 
mong  them.  Their  measures  in  short  too  generally 
partook  both  of  fraud  and  violence,  so  that  we  have 
often  occasion  to  blush  for  their  proceedings  and  for 
the  honour  of  the  christian  name. 

It  will  not  be  a  matter  of  surprise,  but  on  the  other 
hand  to  be  expected,  that  a  conduct  in  itself  barba- 
rous should  be  accompanied  by  a  barbarous  result. 
Accordingly  we  find  a  great  difference  between  the 
treatment  of  these,  and  of  those  who  settled  on  the 
same  continent  under  the  auspices  of  William  Penn. 
Oldmixon  says,  '^  they  (the  Indians)  have  been  very 
civil  to  the  English  (Pennsylvanians),  who  never 
lost  man,  woman,  or  child  by  them  (A.  1708); 
which  neither  the  colony  of  Maryland,  nor  that  of 


OF    WILLIAM  PENN.  347 

Virginia,  can  say,  no  more  than  the  great  colony  of 
New  England."  Hence,  we  find  in  the  same  au- 
thor that  the  Indians  of  Maryland,  Carolina,  Vir- 
ginia, and  of  the  Massachusetts,  murdered  the  Eng- 
lish, and  that  the  colonists  of  these  parts  were 
obliged  to  keep  a  strong  militia  against  them.  The 
fact  is,  that,  generally  speaking,  the  first  settlers  in 
these  provinces,  and  those  who  succeeded  them, 
were  great  suff'erers  from  the  natives.  There  were 
times  when  they  could  neither  cultivate  their  fields 
nor  travel  on  their  business  without  fear  of  destruc- 
tion by  the  latter,  and  when  they  were  obliged  to 
retire  to  and  to  live  in  garrison  for  their  safety. 

It  will  be  unnecessary,  I  apprehend,  to  refer  to 
history  for  specific  instances  in  confirmation  of  the 
above  statement.  It  will  be  far  more  profitable  to 
enquire,  what  was  the  reason,  if  one  can  be  pointed 
out  more  distinctly  than  another,  why  the  settlers 
under  William  Penn  should  have  been  so  singularly 
preserved,  while  so  many  of  the  others  were  de- 
stroyed ?  The  answer  to  this  inquiry,  it  will  be  said, 
will  be  that  which  I  have  already  given,  namely, 
that  a  general  bad  conduct  may  be  expected  to  be 
accompanied  by  a  general  bad  result.  But  this 
answer  is  not  pi;ecise  enough  to  be  admitted  in  the 
present  case  ;  for,  next  to  William  Penn,  the  Lord 
Baltimore,  a  Catholic,  who  has  been  already  men- 
tioned to  have  had  the  honour  of  being  the  first 
American  Governor  to  allow  a  full  Toleration  in  re- 
ligion, conducted  himself  in  the  most  unexceptiona- 
ble manner,  in  his  province  of  Maryland,  towards 


348  MliMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

those  Indians  who  siirrounded  him;  and  yet  these, 
when  they  had  been  provoked  bv  the  Virgiivi'iis, 
did  not  stop  their  ravages  when  within  the  Territo- 
ries of  the  latter,  but  carried  destruction  with  them  j 
whereas,  whatever  the  quarrels  of  the  Pennsylvanian 
Indians  were  with  others,  they  uniformly  respected 
and  held  as  it  were  as  sacred  the  Territories  of 
William  Penn.  The  truth  is,  that  the  Marylanders 
carrying  with  them  from  Europe  their  old  princi- 
ples and  prejudices,  or  in  other  words  acting  upon 
the  policy  of  the  zvarld^  hQg2Ln  to  hmld  forts  and  to 
show  themselves  in  arms,  and  this,  not  after  they 
had  received  any  provocation  to  just  fy  the  measure^ 
but  merely  on  the  anticipation^  or  from  the  fear^ 
that^  the  natives  in  the  vicinity  being  reputed  barba- 
rous^ they  might  be  subjected  to  insults^  and  ulti- 
mately destroyed.  The  conduct  on  the  part  of 
the  Maryland-settlers,  though  it  had  no  offensive  in- 
tention in  it,  was  yet  sufficient  to  infuse  a  suspicion 
into  the  minds  of  the  natives,  that  they  were  not 
the  friendly  people  they  professed.  It  exhibited 
the  power ^  and  therefore  it  conveyed  the  notion^  of 
annoyance;  whereas  the  motives  of  William  Penn, 
when  he  made  similar  professions,  could  neither  be 
questioned  nor  mistaken  ;  for  it  must  have  been  obvi- 
ous to  the  least  discerning  of  the  natives  around  him, 
that  having  no  fort,  no  cannon,  no  pistol,  no  sword, 
but  only  a  few  fowling  pieces  for  defence  against  wild 
beasts,  or  to  procure  food  on  urgent  occasions,  they 
could  have  nothing  to  fear  either  from  him  or  his 
followers  \  for  the  latter  had  put  it  totally  out  of 


OF    WILLIAM    Pf.NN*  349 

their  own  power  to  injure  them.  Thus  going  among 
xYiQxxiuponthe  principle  of  the  GospelyOr  carrying  with 
them  the  Quaker  principle,  that  all  war  was  against 
-both  the  letter  and  spirit  of  Christianity,  he  and 
they  became  armed,  though  without  arms  ;  they  be-* 
came  strong,  though  without  strength  ;  they  became 
safe,  though  without  the  ordinary  means  of  safety  ; 
and  I  am  convinced,  that  the  history  of  the  different 
American  colonies  now  under  our  consideration 
will  bear  me  out  in  asserting,  that  this.was  tfee  true 
reason,  why  in  the  one  case  the  settlers  were  so  sin- 
gularly preserved,  and  why  they  were  subjected  to 
such  fears  and  suffering  in  the  other. 

In  appealing  to  their  history  for  this  purpose,  I 
may  lay  it  down  as  a  position  not  to  be  denied,  that 
the  Indians  were  in  general  well  disposed  towards 
the  different  settlers  on  their  arrival,  and  that  they 
gave  sufficient  proofs  of  this  their  friendly  disposition 
towards  them.     Notwithstanding  this,  Dr.  Trum- 
bull in  his  History  of  Connecticut,  one  of  the   New 
England  States,  makes  the  following  observation  : 
"As    these  infant   settlements,"  says  he,    "were 
filled  and  surrounded  with  numerous  savages,  the 
people  conceived  themselves  in  danger  when  they 
lay  down  and  when  they  rose  up,  when  they  went 
out  and  when  they  came  in.     Their  circumstances 
were  such,  that  it  was  judged  necessary  ioY  tvtry 
man  to  be  a  soldier.     The  consequence  was,  that, 
when  thev  began  to  exhibit  a  military  appearance, 
several   of  them  were  way-laid  and  killed  by  the 
Pequots,  for  so  the   Indians  were  named  in  this 
VOL.  II.  Hh 


550  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

quarter.  Hence  followed  greater  warlike  preparations 
on  the  one  side,  and  greater  suspicion  on  the  other, 
till  at  length  open  war  commenced  between  them, 
during  which  great  excesses  were  committed  by 
both  parties." 

Thomas  Chalkley,  an  eminent  Minister  of  the 
Gospel  among  the  Quakers,  in  his  visit  to  another 
part  of  New  England  in  the  year  1704,  speaks  very 
much  to  the  purpose  thus  :  "  About  this  time  the 
Indians  were  very  barbarous  in  the  destruction  of 
the  English  inhabitants,  scalping  some,  and  knock- 
ing out  the  brains  of  others  (men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren), by  which  the  country  was  greatly  alarmed 
both  night  and  day ;  but  the  great  Lord  of  all  was 
pleased  wonderfully  to  preserve  our  Friends^  especi- 
ally those  who  kept  faithful  to  their  peaceable 
principles^  according  to  the  doctrine  of  Christ  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  as  recorded  in  his  excellent 
Sermon  which  he  preached  on  the  Mount,  in  the 
fifth,  sixth,  and  seventh  chapters  of  Matthew,  which 
is  quite  opposite  to  killing,  revenge,  and  destruction, 
even  of  our  enemies." 

A  little  further  on  he  gives  a  similar  account* 
"  A  neighbour,"  says  he,  "  of  the  aforesaid  people, 
told  me  that,  as  he  was  at  work  in  his  field,  the 
Indians  saw  and  called  to  him,  and  he  went  to  them. 
They  told  him  that  they  had  no  quarrel  with  the  qua- 
kers,yir  they  were  quiet^  peaceable  people^  and  hurt 
nobody^  and  that  therefore  none  should  hurt  them. — 
Those  Indians  began  about  this  time  to  shoot  peo- 
ple down  as  they  rode  along  the  road,  and  to  knock 


GF    WILLIAM    PENN.  35% 

them  on  the  head  in  their  beds,  and  very  barba- 
rously murdered  many ;  but  we  travelled  the  coun- 
try and  had  large  meetings,  and  the  good  presence 
of  God  was  with  us  abundantly,  and  we  had  great 
inward  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  outward  jeo- 
pardy  and  travels.  The  people  generally  rode  and 
zuent  to  their  xvorship  armed;  but  Friends  went  to 
their  meetings  without  either  sword  or  gun^  hav- 
ing their  trust  and  confidence  in  God." 

John  Fothergill,  another  eminent  Minister  of 
the  same  Society,  who  travelled  about  two  years 
afterward  into  the  same  and  also  into  oth:;r  parts  of 
the  New  England  States,  gives  a  similar  account. 
''  It  was  then  a  very  exercising  and  trying  time 
with  Friends  here,  by  reason  of  the  bloody  incur- 
sions that  the  Indians  then  frequently  made  upon 
the  English,  being  hired  by  the  French  about 
Quebec,  which  lies  behind  New  England  to  the 
north-west,  so  that  many  of  the  English  inhabitants 
were  frequently  murdered  in  their  houses,  or  shot, 
or  knocked  dov/n  on  the  road  or  in  the  fields. 
Some  were  carried  away  captives ;  and  those  whom 
they  killed  they  cut  with  their  great  knives  round 
the  head  about  the  skirt  of  the  hair,  and  then  pulled 
the  skin  off  the  head  ;  and  for  every  such  skin, 
v/hich  they  call  a  scalp,  they  were  to  have  a  sum 
of  money.  These  barbarities  caused  many  people 
to  leave  their  habitations  with  their  families,  and 
retire  into  garrisons,  v/hich  the  people  built  in  ma- 
ny places  for  their  greater  security.  Yet  that, 
which  was  sorrowful  to  me  to  observe,  was,  that- 


o^2  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Tew  of  them  seemed  to  be  affected  with  due  con- 
sideration, so  as  to  be  awakened  to  think  rightly 
of  the  cause  of  this  heavy  chastisement,  and  be 
induced  to  seek  the  Almighty's  favour,  as  they^ 
ought.  But  it  was  a  profitable,  humbling  time 
to  many  of  our  Friends,  rvho  generalhj  stood 
in  the  fa'ith^  and  kept  at  their  usual  places  of 
abode^  though  at  the  daily  hazard  of  their  lives: 
and  it  was  very  remarkable,  that  scarce  any^  who 
thus  kept  their  habitations  in  the  faith^  were  suf- 
fered  to  fall  by  the  Indians^  though  few  days  pas- 
sed but  we  heard  of  some  of  their  cruel  murders 
and  destroying  vengeance.  We  were  in  these 
parts  backwards  and  forwards  a  considerable  time, 
having  many  meetings  before  we  could  be  clear 
to  leave  them,  which,  through  the  merciful  re- 
gard and  succouring  nearness  of  the  Almighty- 
power  and  presence,  Avas  satisfactory  to  us,  and 
very  strengthening  and  comfortable  to  Friends  ; 
we  and  they  being  all  graciously  preserved^ 
though  in  the  open  country^  and  we  lodged  se- 
veral times  at  a  Friend'^s  house  at  some  distance 
from  the  garrison ;  and  we  had  reason  to  believe 
a  party  of  Indians  was  for  some  time  about  it,  the 
marks  of  their  feet  being  plainly  to  be  seen  th^ 
next  morning  ;  but  they  xvent  axvay  rvithout  doing 
any  damage^  though  it  xvas  but  a  mean  little  tim- 
berrhouse^  and  easy  to  break  into*^^ 

It  appears,  as  far  as  we  have  yet  disclosed  the 
contents  of  the  two  Journals,  that  the  Quakers, 
who  never  tised  weapons  of  war  like  other  people^ 


OF  WILLIAM   PENN.  253^ 

but  lived  in  a  defenceless  state,  were  marked  as  it 
were  for  preservation  by  those  very  Indians,  who 
were  carrying  death  and  destruction  among  all  the 
other  settlers  promiscuously  wherever  an  opportu- 
nity was  afforded  them.  Three  instances  however 
occur  in  the  Journal  of  Thomas  Chalkley,  where 
persons  belonging  to  the  Society  were  killed  ;  but 
it  is  remarkable  that,  in  every  one  of  these,  they 
suffered,  because^  haTing  out  of  fear  abandoned 
their  own  great  principle  in  the  case  before  us^  they 
gave  the  Indians  reason  to  suppose  that,  though 
they  appeared  to  be  outwardly,  z/e*^  they  had  ceas- 
ed to  be^  real  fakers.  *•'•  Among  the  many 
hundreds,''  says  Thomas  Chalkley,  "  that  were 
slain,  I  heard  but  of  three  of  our  Friends  being 
killed,  whose  destruction  was  very  remarkable,  as 
I  was  informed.  The  one  was  a  woman,  and  the 
other  two  were  men.  The  men  used  used  to  go 
to  their  labour  without  any  weapons,  and  trusted 
to  the  Ahuighty  and  depended  on  his  providence 
to  protect  them  (^it  being  their  principle  not  to  use 
weapons  oj  war  to  offend  others  or  to  defend  them- 
selves^ :  but  a  spirit  of  distrust  taking  place,  they 
took  weapons  of  xvar  to  dejend  themselves  ;  and  the 
Indians,  who  had  seen  them  several  times  without 
them,  let  them  alone ^  say?ng^  they  were  peaceable 
men  and  hurt  nobody^  therefore  they  would  not  hrirt 
them  ;  but  now  seeing  them  have  guns^  and  suppose 
ing  they  designed  to  kill  the  Indians^  they  therefore 
shot  them  dead.^^ 


^54  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

With  respect  to  the  woman,  the  story  is  rather 
long.  I  will  state  it  however  concisely  by  observ- 
ing, that  she  had  remained  in  her  habitation  with 
others  of  her  family,  where  both  she  and  they  had 
been  safe  ;  but  that  the  massacres  in  the  neighbour- 
hood had  been  such,  that  she  began  at  length  to 
fear  for  her  life.  At  this  moment  certain  men 
coming  from  the  garrison  with  their  guns,  and  in- 
forming her  that  the  Indians  were  near,  she  return- 
with  them,  and  entered  into  it.  While  she  was 
there  she  became  uneasy.  She  felt  that  she  had 
abandoned  one  of  the  great  principles  of  her  reli- 
gion, by  an  association  with  armed  people,  and 
therefore  she  left  the  fort ;  but  on  returning  home 
the  Indians,  who  had  seen  her  come  out  of  it,  and 
rvho  therefore  supposed  her  to  belong  to^  or  to  hold 
the  same  principles  withy  those  who  were  then  in  it^ 
watched,  way-laid,  and  killed  her. 

The  above  instance  is  likewise  mentioned  by 
Thomas  Story  in  his  Journal,  who  travelled  in  the 
same  year  to  the  same  parts  ;  but  he  adds  another 
of  a  similar  kind,  which,  as  it  is  to  the  same  pur- 
port, and  is  the  only  other  I  am  acquainted  with, 
I  shall  give  to  the  reader  in  his  own  words.  '^  And 
the  same  morning,''  says  he,  "  a  young  man,  a 
Friend,  and  tanner  by  trade,  going  from  the  town 
to  his  work  with  a  gun  in  his  hand^  and  another 
with  him  without  any^  the  Indians  shot  him  who 
xvho  had  the  gun^  but  hurt  not  the  Qther  :  and  when 
they  knew  the  young  man  they  had  killed  was  a 
Friend^  they  seemed  to  be  sorry  for  it^  but  blamed 


OP  WILLIAM   PENN.  2tSS 

him  for  carrying  a  gun  ;  for  they  knew  the  fakers 
xvould  not  fight  nor  do  them  any  harm^  ;  and  there- 
fore, by  carrying  a  gun^  they  took  him  for  an  ene- 
my:' 

Having  now  canvassed  the  great  subject  under 
the  head  ^  Indians'  in  its  different  branches,  as  I  had 
originally  proposed,  I  must  bring  the  attention  of 
the  reader  back  to  one  of  them,  namely,  to  the  ob- 
ject which  William  Penn  had  in  coniieciing  himself 
with  these,  just  to  show  how  no  good  effort  is  ever 
lost,  or  how  this  object,  which  he  had  so  much  at 
heart,  and  which  he  was  the  first  to  propose,  is  in 
the  way  of  being  accomplished  by  his  descendants. 
When  in  his  own  monthly  Meeting  at  Philadelphia 
he  procured  the  minute  to  be  passed,  by  which  a 
more  regular  intercourse  was  to  be  kept  up  with 
them,  who  could  have  thought  that  he  then  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  civilization  of  the  different  North 
American  tribes  ?  and  yet  such  most  probably  will 
be  the  issue.  From  that  time  a  communication  be- 
tween them  and  his  own  Society  for  this  laudable 
purpose  was  incorporated  as  a  duty  into  the  disci- 
pline of  the  latter  ;  and  this  has  been  kept  up,  sub- 
ject to  interruption  more  or  less  on  account  of  the 
wars  of  Europe.    In  process  of  time,  that  which  had 

*  As  a  further  confirmation  of  the  theory  I  have  advan- 
ced, I  may  observe,  that  we  seldom  hear  ol  missionaries  being 
killed,  though  thousands  have  gone  and  resided  among  savages  ; 
but  then  they  have  gone  thither  bo^h  professionally  and  practi- 
cally as  the  children  of  William  Penn,  that  is,  in  the  spirit  of 
peace  and  naithout  arms. 


356  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

been  the  duty  only  of  the  Monthly  Meeting  of  Phi- 
ladelphia  became  the  duty  of  several  larger  circles, 
or  Quarterly  Meetings,  that  is,  of  the  Great  Yearly 
Meeting,  which  comprehended  the  Quaker-popula- 
tion of  a  part  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Dela- 
ware, and  the  eastern  parts  of  Maryland,  and  after 
that  of  another  Yearly  Meeting,  which  comprehend- 
ed the  Society  in  other  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
western  shore  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  Ohio.^ 
This  increased  population  afforded  of  course  in-» 
creased  means,  and  such  as  were  more  proportioned 
to  the  magnificence  of  the  end.  Hence  civilization 
has  been  offered  by  the  descendants  of  William 
Penn  spread  over  this  great  extent  of  country  to  the 
Senecas,  Oneidas,  Onondagoes,  Cayugas,  Shawa- 
nese,  Delawares,  Wyandots,  Cherokees,  Creeks, 
Chickesaws,  Choctaws,  Tuscaroras,  Miamis,  and 
other  Indians,  most  of  whom  have  more  or  less  em- 
braced it,  and  some  of  whom  are  on  the  road  to  an 
important  change.  Those  who  hav«  been  the 
longest  under  their  kind  instructors  have  made  the 
greatest  progress,  and  among  these  some  have  al- 
ready arrived  at  that  station,  where,  when  they  view 
themselves  as  they  are,  and  look  back  upon  what 
they  were,  there  is  but  little  danger  of  a  relapse.  The 
tribe  of  Senecas  settled  at  Allegany  are,  I  believe,  in 
the  most  prominent  state  of  improvement.  From 
wild  hunters,  constantly  roaming  about  and  depend- 
ing from  day  to  day  on  a  precarious  subsistence, 
they  have  become  stationary  farmers,  and  taught  to 
look  for  a  more  certam  and  permanent  support  from 


OF   WILLIAM  PENN#  357 

the  produce  of  their  lands.  It  appears  by  the  last 
Report,  that  the  improvement  among  them  in  the 
three  last  years  has  been  astonishing.  They  had 
erected  nearly  a  hundred  houses  since  that  time, 
most  of  them  two  stories  high,  and  well  put  up  with 
hewn  logs,  very  perpendicular  at  the  corners,  and 
nicely  fitted  together.  These  buildings,  with  very 
little  exception,  were  their  own  work.  They  had 
opened  good  roads,  which  were  remarkably  well 
made,  being  superior  to  those  among  the  frontier 
white  inhabitants.  They  had  made  also  an  equal 
progress  upon  their  farnis.  Their  fences  were  ge- 
nerally good.  Divers  of  them  raised  wheat,  oats, 
buckwheat,  potatoes,  turnips, beans,  squashes,  pump^ 
kins,  cucumbers,  and  melons  of  various  kinds.  They 
had  a  number  of  horses  and  a  good  stock  of  cattle 
and  hogs,  which  were  of  their  own  rearing.  They 
mowed  their  ground,  and  made  hay,  and  preserved 
straw  as  fodder  for  the  winter.  Many  of  them  used 
the  plough.  They  had  grist  and  saw-mills  among 
them.  Some  could  weave  and  tan.  The  idea  of 
property  began  to  be  prevalent  among  them.  They 
began  to  be  neater  in  their  persons,  and  almost  all  of 
them  had  abandoned  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors. 
With  respect  to  the  women,  they  had  been  exempt- 
ed in  a  great  degree  from  the  drudgery  of  field -la- 
bour. Their  principal  employment  was  that  of  spin- 
ning, knitting,  and  making  soap.  Such  is  the  state 
of  the  Senecas  residing  near  the  Allegany  river. 
"  The  above  statement,"  savs  one  of  the  deputation, 
who  visited  them,  "  exhibits  the  progress  of  one 


358  MEMOIRS    OF   TrtE   hlTH, 

tribe  towards  civilization,  and  furnishes  those  inte- 
rested in  their  welfare  with  great  encouragement  ia 
the  prosecution  of  a  work  so  well  calculated  to  in- 
crease the  comforts  of  human  life, — But  we  were 
as  much  encouraged  (says  the  same  person)  with 
the  Senecas,  who  resided  on  the  river  Cattaraugus, 
as  with  those  of  the  Allegany,  although  the  improve- 
ments were  not  so  great,  they  being  more  remotely 
situated  and  of  later  date.'*  Hence  the  reformation 
of  one  tribe  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  be  succeeded  by 
the  reformation  of  another,  each  in  turn,  as  it  shall 
have  served  its  apprenticeship,  if  I  may  use  the  ex- 
pression, or  as  it  shall  have  fulfilled  the  period  neces- 
sary for  the  knowledge  required.  And  hence  a 
prospect  is  opened  to  us,  truly  gratifying,  in  whick 
we  see  nation  after  nation  included,  till  at  length 
Heathenism  itself  shall  be  no  more  :  and  if  ever 
this  happy  day  should  arrive  on  the  Northern  part 
of  the  continent  of  America,  it  ought  to  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance  by  posterity,  that  the  bless- 
ing#  commenced  in  the  virtuous  politics  of  William 
Penn. 

•  It  is  melancholy  to  think,  that  the  beautiful  plan  of  civiliza" 
tion  thus  going  on  among  so  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  is  likely  to 
be  most  seriously  interrupted  by  the  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  America.  One  of  the  first  measures  taken  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  Canada,  after  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  United 
States,  was  to  attempt  to  bring  over  to  the  British  standard  as 
many  of  the  tribes  bordering  on  the  north-western  frontier  of  the 
latter  as  they  could.  Several  of  these  joined  it.  The  consequence 
was,  that  many  of  their  villages  were  laid  waste  by  the  militia 
from  the  western  States,  and  the  whole  of  the  com  and  other 


OF  WIXLIAM   PENN.  359 

"We  are  now  to  see  William  Penn  as  he  conduct- 
ed himself  as  a  statesman  upon  Christian  principles 
towards  another  class  of  aliens,  namely,  those  Ne- 
groes who  were  brought  from  Africa  into  Pennsyl- 
vania soon  after  that  colony  began. 

In  the  years  1681,  1682,  and  1683,  when  he  wHs 
iBirst  resident  there,  but  very  few  of  these  had  been 
imported.  At  this  time,  as  I  then  observed,  the 
traffic  in  slaves  was  not  branded  with  infamy  as  at 
the  present  day.  It  was  considered  as  favourable  to 
both  parties ;  to  the  Planters,  because  they  had  but 
few  labourers  in  comparison  with  the  extent  of  their 
lands  ;  and  to  the  poor  Negroes  themselves,  because 
they  were  looked  upon  as  persons  redeemed  out  ef 
superstition,  idolatry,  and  heathenism,  and  to  be 
treated  well  in  order  that  they  might  embrace  the 
Christian  religion.  Hence,  their  number  being  very 
few  and  their  usage  comparatively  mild,  their  situa- 
tion seemed  to  be  such  as  not  to  call  for  legislative 

subsistence  which  they  had  provided  for  their  winter  supply  de- 
stroyed; so  that  being  destitute  of  houses  to  shelter  themselves, 
or  food,  many  must  in  the  course  of  the  last  winter  have  perish- 
ed. Of  the  tribes  on  the  north-western  frontier,  only  the  Dela- 
wares,  Shawanese,  and  a  part  of  the  Wyandors  refused  to  em- 
bark in  the  contest  Among  the  southern  the  Creeks,  Cherokees, 
Chickesaws,  and  Chocktaws  remained  also  neuter  These  are  all 
advancing  rapidly  towards  civilization,  many  of  rhem  having  ac- 
quired considerable  property.  They  already  manufacture  a  con- 
siderable part  of  their  own  clothing.  In  consequence  of  their 
wise  determination  to  take  no  part  in  the  war,  they  have  not 
been  molested ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  wifl 
continue  in  an  improving  state. 


SeO  MEMOIRS   OF   THE  LITE 

interference.  All,  therefore,  that  he  then  did  was 
generally  to  inculcate  tenderness  towards  them,  as 
to  persons  of  the  same  species  ;  and  to  recommend 
it  to  their  masters,  as  they  were  children  of  the  same 
great  Father  and  heirs  of  the  same  promises,  to  con- 
sider them  as  branches  of  their  own  families,  for 
whose  spiritual  welfare  it  became  them  to  be  con- 
cerned. But  in  the  year  1 700,  that  is,  about  seven- 
teen years  afterwards,  when  he  visited  America  a 
second  time,  he  found  their  numbers  so  much  in- 
creased, that  they  were  likely  to  form  no  inconside- 
rable  part  of  the  population  in  time.  Now  it  was 
that  their  case  began  to  demand  his  attention  as  a 
Christian  Statesman.  He  began  to  question,  whe- 
ther under  the  Christian  system  men  ought  to  be 
consigned  to  unconditional  slavery ;  whether  they 
ought  to  be  bought  and  sold  ;  whether  the  situation 
of  master  and  slave  under  such  terms  was  not  preg- 
nant both  with  physical  and  moral  evil ;  whether  the 
human  heart  would  not  become  corrupted  and  har- 
dened by  the  use  of  power  ;  and  whether,  therefore, 
if  no  public  care  were  exercised  over  the  poor  Ne- 
groes, they  would  not  become  an  oppressed  people. 
This  question  he  determined  virtuously  and  in  uni- 
son with  the  Resolutions  of  two  Yearly  Meetings 
which  had  been  held  before  in  his  own  Province. 
For  the  honour,  therefore,  of  his  own  Society  as  a 
professing  people,  and  that  the  Negroes  might  stand 
still  more  minutely  upon  record  on  their  public  Jour- 
nals, and  this  as  beings  whose  situation  entitled  them 
to  spiritual  attention  equally  with  others  of  a  diffe- 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  361 

rent  complexion  and  colour,  (considerations  which 
he  knew  well  would  for  ever  secure  them  protection 
from  those  who  belonged  to  it,)  he  resolved,  as  far 
as  his  own  powers  w^ent,  upon  incorporating  their 
treatment  as  a  matter  of  Christian  duty  into  the 
Disciphne  of  the  latter.  He  succeeded;  and  the 
result  was,  that  a  Minute  was  passed  by  the  Month- 
ly Meeting  of  Philadelphia,  and  properly  registered 
there,  by  which  a  Meeting  was  appointed  more  par- 
ticularly for  the  Negroes  once  every  month ;  so  that, 
besides  the  common  opportunities  they  had  of  col- 
lecting religious  knowledge  by  frequenting  the  pla- 
ces of  public  worship,  there  w^as  one  day  in  the 
month,  in  which,  as  far  as  the  influence  of  the 
Monthly  Meeting  extended,  they  could  neither  be 
temporally  nor  spiritually  overlooked. 

Having  secured  their  treatment  in  a  certain  de- 
gree among  those  of  his  own  persuasion,  his  next 
object  was  to  secure  it  among  others  in  the  Colony, 
on  whom  the  discipline  of  the  Quakers  had  no  hold, 
by  a  legislative  Act.  This  was  all  he  could  do  at 
present.  To  forbid  the  bringing  of  slaves  into  the 
Colony  was  entirely  out  of  his  power.  He  had  no 
command  whatever  over  the  external  commerce  of 
the  Mother-Country.  Ht  was  bound,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  his  Charter,  to  admit  her  imports ;  and  at 
this  moment  she  particularly  encouraged  the  Slave- 
trade.  The  power  he  had  as  Governor  extended 
only  to  Laws  or  Regulations  within  his  own  boun- 
daries J  and  these  were  not  to  be  contrary  to  reason, 
or  the  spirit  of  the  British  Constitution*     Of  this 

^0L*II.  li 


362  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

then  he  availed  himself  j  for  he  considered  Slavery 
as  a  frightful  excrescence,  which  had  insensibly 
grown  up  since  the  discovery  of  the  New  World, 
and  which  the  latter,  though  it  permitted,  could  not 
recognise.  His  first  step  was  to  introduce  a  Bill 
into  the  Assembly,  which  should  protect  the  Ne- 
groes from  personal  ill-treatment,  by  fair  trials  and 
limited  punishments  ;  and  which  at  the  same  time, 
by  regulating  their  marriages,  should  improve  their 
moral  condition.  This  he  did  with  a  viev/  of  fitting 
them  by  degrees  for  a  state  of  freedom ;  and  as  the 
Bill  comprehended  not  only  those  who  were  then  in 
the  Province  and  Territories,  but  those  who  should 
afterwards  be  brought  there,  he  hoped  that  it  would 
lay  the  foundation,  as  it  were,  of  a  preparatory 
school  for  civilization  and  liberty  to  all  of  the  Afri- 
can race.  Here  then  we  see  him  acting  the  part  of 
a  Christian  Statesman  towards  another  class  of  ali- 
ens, and  these  the  vilest  w^ithin  his  boundaries.  That 
he  did  not  carry  his  Bill  in  the  Assembly  is  to  be 
lamented.  But  his  mind,  his  spirit,  his  intention, 
were  equally  shown  by  the  effort  which  he  made, 
and  he  is  equally  entitled  to  our  praise  and  gratitude 
as  if  he  had  succeeded  on  the  occasion. 

But  though  unfortunately  for  his  own  feelings  he 
failed  in  carrying  his  point  where  he  conceived  he 
should  be  most  useful,  the  pains  he  had  taken  upon 
the  subject  were  not  lost.  The  Resolution,  which 
he  had  occasioned  his  own  Society  to  make,  and 
which  has  been  just  mentioned,  answered  the  same 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  363 

end,  though  it  took  a  much  longer  time  to  accom- 
plish it:  for,  when  he  procured  the  insertion  of  it  in 
the  Monthly   Meeting   Book  of  Philadelphia,  he 
sealed  as  assuredly  and  effectually  the  abolition  of 
the  Slave-Trade  and  the  emancipation  of  the  Ne- 
groes within  his  own  Province,  as,  when  he  procur- 
ed the  insertion  of  the  Minute  relating  to  the  Indi- 
ans in  the  same  Book,  he  sealed  the  civilization  of 
the  latter  ;  for  from  the  time  the  subject  became  in- 
corporated into  the  Discipline  of  the  Quakers  they 
never  lost  sight  of  it.     Several  among  them  began 
to  refuse  to  purchase  Negroes  at  all,  and  others  to 
emancipate  those  which  they  had  in  their  possession, 
and  this  of  their  own  accord,  and  purely  from  the 
motives  of  religion  ;  till  at  length  it  became  a  Law 
of  the  Society  that  no  Member  could  be  concerned, 
either  directly  or  indirectly,  either  in  buying  or  sel- 
ling or  in  holding  them  in  bondage  ;  and  this  Law 
was  carried  so  completely  into  effect,  that  in  the  year 
1 780,  dispersed  as  the  Society  was  over  a  vast  tract 
of  country,  there  was  not  a  single  Negro  as  a  slave 
in    the  possession  of    an  acknowledged    Quaker. 
This  example,  soon  after  it  had  been  begun,  was 
followed  by  others  of  other  religious  denominations. 
After  this  the  American  Revolution,  which  dis- 
seminated notions  of  Liberty,  and  which  ended  in 
Independence,  aided  the  good  cause.     Since  that 
time  it  has  been  gradually  gaining  ground,  so  that 
out  of  tens  of  thousands  of  slaves  once  in  Pennsyl- 
vania very  few  comparatively  remain,  and  these  aee 


364  JNl-KMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

annually^  so  diminishing,  that  probably  in  ten  yeai;s 
there  will  not  be  left  a  single  one  to  pollute  the  ter- 
ritory of  William  Penn. 

I  shall  not  enter  here,  according  to  the  plan  I  have 
pursued,  into  a  detail  of  the  conduct  of  those  States- 
men, and  the  miserable  consequences  of  it,  who  have 
had  any  concern  with  the  Negroes  on  the  principle 
of  the  Policy  of  the  World.  The  subject  is  too 
well  known,  and  I  should  only  be  torturing  the  feel- 
ings of  the  reader  by  a  comparison.  Posterity,  I 
believe,  will  in  more  distant  ages  find  it  difficult  to 
credit  the  enormities  to  which  they  have  given  birth. 
They  will  wonder  how  such  a  system  could  ever 
have  been  thought  of,  and  much  more  how  it  could 
have  so  long  continued.  They  will  probably  mark 
with  barbarism  the  age  that  introduced  it ;  nor  will 
they  probably  speak  of  Britain  herself  as  civilized, 
till  the  day  when  she  abolished  the  Slave-Trade  ;  or 
till  that  other  day  yet  to  come,  when  the  word  Sla- 
very shall  be  erased  from  the  book  which  enumerates 
her  foreign  possessions. 

*  From  a  census  taken  of  the  population  of  Pennsylvania  at 
three  successive  periods,  we  are  enabled  to  give  the  following 
account. 

Population  in  1790—434,373 — Slaves  3,737 

1800— 602,365— do.        1,706 

1810--810,091— do.  795 

From  the  same  census  we  are  enabled  to  give  a  similar  account 

df  that  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  for  the  same  years  : 

Population  in  1790— 42,520— Slaves       273 

1800— 64,035— do.  55 

1§10- 93,640— do  '"^ 


OF   WILLIAM   PExVN.  365 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Recapitulation  of  the  traits  in  the  preceding  chapters 
of  his  legislative  character  as  a  Christian — has 
exhibited  himself  besides  as  the  ruler  of  a  king- 
dom without  a  soldier — and  also  without  an  oath — 
Great  Treaty  with  the  Indians  never  ratified  by 
an  oath  and  yet  never  broken — Indians  made  in- 
cursions into  Pennsylvania  in  1754,  but  never 
while  the  ^takers  ruled — causes  of  these  incur- 
sions— peace  restored  by  the  fakers — Father 
O* Leary^s  eidogium  on  the  Government  of  William 
Penn — happy  condition  of  Pennsylvania  under 
it — conclusion* 

It  has  appeared,  from  the  two  preceding  chap- 
ters, that  William  Penn  exhibited  a  new  model  of 
Government  to  posterity.  While  he  gave  to  the 
Representatives  concerned  in  it  all  the  power  which 
they  themselves  could  desire,  he  made  the  people, 
according  to  Edmund  Burke, ''as  free  as  any  in 
the  world."  He  toot  awav  from  both  the  means 
of  corruption  and  from  himself  and  successors  the 
means  of  tvranny  and  oppression.  It  may  be  re- 
membered perhaps  how  nobl\ ,  when  he  was  draw- 
ing up  the  articles  of  his  Constitution,  he  expressed 
himself  in  a  letter  to  R.  Turner  on  this  subject.^ 
*'  And  as  my  understanding  and  inclinations,"  says 
he,  "  have  been  much  directed  to  obs?  rve  and  to  re- 
prove mischiefs  in  Governments,  so  it  is  now  pn,^, 
I  12 


366  MEMOIRS   OF   THE    LIFE 

into  my  power  to  settle  one.  For  the  matters  of 
Liberty  and  Privilege  I  purpose  that  which  is  extra- 
ordinary, and  leave  myself  and  successors  no  power 
of  doing  mischief  that  the  xuill  of  one  man  may  not 
hinder  the  good  of  a  xvhole  country P 

It  has  appeared  secondly,  that  he  made  universal 
Toleration  the  great  comer-stone  of  his  civil  edi- 
fice, not  fearing  to  put  into  the  most  important  offi- 
ces of  State  all  those  who  believed  in  Jesus  Christ, 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  ;  or,  in  other  words,  not 
fearing  any  inconvenience  from  the  collision  of  the 
minor  though  different  tenets  which  they  professed. 

It  has  appeared  thirdly,  that  he  abolished  the 
the  punishment  of  death  except  in  the  case  of  wil- 
ful murder ;  and  that  he  made  those  prisons,  in 
which  the  public  safety  required  offenders  to  be  con- 
fined, the^  schools  of  their  reformation  through  the 
medium  of  industr^^;  by  which  he  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  finest  code  of  criminal  law  now  on  the 
whole  earth. 

.  It  has  appeared  again,  that  he  conducted  himself 
towards  those  aliens,  with  whom  he  happened  to  be 
politically  connected,  as  men  and  brethren,  and 
therefore  as  persons  whose  temporal  and  spiritual 
interests  were  to  be  severally  promoted.  Hence,  he 
protected  the  helpless,  he  instructed  the  ignorant, 
and  he  attempted  to  raise  them  gradually  in  the  scale 
of  human  beings. 

Aud  it  has  appeared  lastly,  that  after  his  Consti- 
tution had  been  accepted,  sealed,  signed,  and  put  in 
force,  he  did  not  cleave  to  the  constituent  parts  of  it 


OF    WILLIAM  PKKN.  367 

with  that  obstinacy  with  which  Statesmen  defend 
not  only  the  laws  and  edicts  of  their  own  making, 
but  those,  the  dead  and  obsolete  letters  of  former 
times ;  but  that  he  was  always  ready  to  give  up,  up- 
on conviction,  such  of  them  as  were  found  less  pro- 
motive than  others  of  the  public  good. 

But  William  Penn  has  shown,  in  other  political 
departments,  which  I  have  not  yet  noticed,  an  ex- 
ample not  less  amiable  in  itself,  and  not  less  impor- 
tant to  posterity.  He  has  exhibited  to  the  world 
the  singular  spectacle,  or  has  shown  the  possibility, 
of  a  nation  maintaining  its  own  internal  police 
amidst  a  mixture  of  persons  of  different  nations  and 
different  civil  and  religious  opinions,  and  of  main- 
taining its  foreign  relations  also,  without  the  aid  of 
a  soldier  or  man  in  arms.  The  constable's  staff  was 
the  only  instrument  of  authority  in  Pennsylvania  for 
the  greater  part  of  a  century,  and  always  while  the 
Government  was  in  the  hands  of  his  own  descend- 
ants, the  Quakers  ;  and  never  was  a  Government, 
as  it  related  to  the  governed,  maintained  with  less 
internal  disturbance,  or  more  decorum  and  order; 
and,  as  it  related  to  foreigners,  with  more  harmony; 
for,  though  he  was  situated  among  barbarous  na- 
tions, never,  during  his  Administration  or  that  of 
his  proper  successors,  was  there — a  quarrel — or— 
a  roar. 

He  has  exhibited  again  the  singular  spectacle,  or 
shown  the  possibility,  of  a  great  nation  managing  all 
its  concerns  without  the  intervention  of  an  oath. 
He  believed  that  all  oaths  were  forbidden  by  Jesus 


368  1VIEMOIR55    OF    THE    LIFE 

Christ,  and  therefore  he  did  not  admit  them  into  his 
civil  code.  He  allowed  only  of  simple  affirmation  ; 
but  he  punished  it,  if  false,  as  perjury.  All  affairs 
of  the  Magistracy,  all  affairs  of  the  Government, 
were  conducted  without  an  oath  ;  and  no  injury 
was.  found  to  accrue  thereby  ;  nor  was  Truth  viola- 
ted more  in  PennsN  Ivania  than  in  any  other  quarter 
of  the  globe. 

He  managed  his  foreign  concerns  in  like  man- 
ner. The  Great  Treaty  between  himself  and  the 
Indians  was  made  without  an  oath  on  either  part. 
It  was  the  only  treaty,  says  Voltaire,  that  was  so 
ratified,  and  that  was  never  broken.  This  observa- 
tion of  Voltaire  was  minutely  true  as  it  related  to 
the  Quakers,  who  were  considered  by  the  Indians 
as  his  descendants  ;  and  it  may  be  said  to  be  true 
also  as  it  related  to  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  Pro- 
vince j  for  though  hostilities  commenced  after- 
wards, and  this  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  them- 
selves, they  did  not  commence  till  the  former  had 
become  the  aggressors.  In  the  year  1751  James 
Logan,  who  has  been  before  mentioned  in  these 
Memoirs,  died.  He  had  been  the  Proprietor's 
Secretary  and  principal  Agent.  All  treaties  and 
public  transactions  with  the  Indians,  and  more  es- 
pecially on  the  subject  of  their  lands,  were  directed 
by  him.  After  his  death,  other  persons  of  a  diffe.- 
rent  character  were  put  into  his  place.  Hence  the 
Quakers  were  excluded  from  their  accustomary  in- 
tercourse with  the  latter.  From  this  time  persons 
were  allowed  more    freely  to    trade   with    thera^ 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  369 

whose  principles  were  not  sufficiently  known,— 
Some  of  these  made  it  a  practice  to  make  them 
drunk,  and  then  to  rob  them  of  all  they  had. — 
Others,  who  setded  in  their  neighbourhood,  en- 
croached upon  their  lands.  The  Indians  com- 
plained. Their  grievances  were  not  noticed  as  be- 
fore. A  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  sprung  up  in  con- 
sequence among  them.  The  French  took  advan- 
tage of  this,  and  encouraged  them  to  retaliate  in 
another  way,  A  war  was  accordingly  resolved 
upon  in  the  year  1754,  and  many  of  the  frontier  m- 
habitants  suffered  by  it.  About  nine  years  after- 
wards a  new  circumstance  happened,  which  great- 
ly irritated  the  Indians,  and  made  them  still  more 
hostile  than  before.  Some  inhabitants  of  Lancas- 
ter county,  principally  from  the  township  of  Pax- 
tang  and  Donnegal,  who  were  bigoted  Presbyteri- 
ans, armed  themselves,  and,  under  the  impious  no- 
tion of  doing  God  service  by  extirpating  the  Hea- 
then from  the  land,  fell  upon  the  remains  of  a  Con- 
estogo  Tribe,  who  were  peaceable  persons,  living 
far  within  the  settled  parts  of  the  Province,  and 
who  were  entirely  innocent  as  to  the  war,  and  mur- 
dered all  of  them  in  cool  blood,  at  two  different 
times,  both  old  and  young,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren. The  good  old  Chief  Shehaes,  who  had  as- 
sisted at  one  of  the  treaties  with  William  Penn 
himself,  and  who  had  been  a  faithful  friend  to  the 
English  ever  since,  was  hatcheted  in  his  bed.  Af- 
ter this  they  advanced  hundreds  of  them  armed 
towards    Philadelphia,  threatening  destruction   to 


3T0  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

all  who  should  oppose  them,  in  order  to  cut  to  pie- 
ces a  party  of  friendly  Indians,  consisting  of  those 
of  Wyalusing,  who,  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  and 
forty,  had  thrown  themselves  upon  the  protection  of 
that  city.  Happily  they  were  prevented  by  the  Phi- 
ladelphians  from  executing  their  bloody  design. — 
But  they  had  struck  such  terror  into  the  country, 
that  no  one  dared  to  impeach  the  murderers,  or 
even  publicly  to  mention  their  names.  ^' The 
weakness  of  the  Government,"  says  Robert  Proud, 
"was  not  able  to  punish  these  murderers,  nor  to 
chastise  the  insurgents :  a  sorrowful  presage  of 
an  approaching  change  in  that  happy  Constitution^ 
xvhtch  had  so  long  afforded  a  peaceable  asijliim  to 
the  oppressed  I"*"^  This  dreadful  massacre  irritated, 
as  I  said  before,  to  a  still  greater  degree,  those 
Tribes  which  had  been  already  offended  ;  and  what 
the  consequences  would  have  been,  no  man  can  say, 
if  the  Quakers  had  not  thrown  themselves  into  the 
gap  as  it  were  between  the  contending  parties.—- 
They  formed  a  Society  among  themselves,  called 
"  the  friendly  Association  for  gaining  and  preserv- 
ing Peace  with  the  Indians  by  pacific  Measures." 
They  raised  many  thousand  pounds  within  their 
own  Society.  They  purchased  goods  for  presents. 
They  applied  to  the  Indians  for  a  hearing.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  the  latter  received  them  as  the  true 
Friends  of  the  great  and  deceased  Onas ;  that 
through  their  mediation  thev  renewed  the  Treaty 
with  the  Government  of  Pennsylvania  near  Laks 


OF   WILLIAM  PENN,  371 

Erie  ;  and  that  they  withdrew  themselves  for  ever 
from  the  French  interest  from  that  day. 

Having  now  exhibited  William  Penn  to  the 
reader  as  a  Christian  Statesman  in  all  the  points  of 
view  I  originally  intended,  I  shall  only  add  the  en- 
comium which  Father  O'Leary,  a  Catholic,  in  his 
Essay  on  Toleration,  passed  upon  his  Government, 
and  a  very  short  statement  descriptive  of  the  hap- 
piness which  those  who  lived  under  it  are  said  to 
have  enjoyed.  *^  William  Penn,  the  great  Legisla- 
tor of  the  Quakers,"  says  the  author  just  mention- 
ed, "  had  the  success  of  a  Conqueror  in  establish- 
ing and  defending  his  Colony,  among  savage  tribes, 
without  ever  drawing  the  sword  ;  the  goodness  of 
the  most  benevolent  rulers  in  treating  his  subjects 
as  his  own  children  ;  and  the  tenderness  of  an  uni- 
versal Father,  who  opened  his  arms  to  all  mankind 
without  distinction  of  sect  or  party.  In  his  Re- 
public it  was  not  the  religious  creed,  but  personal 
merit,  that  entitled  every  member  of  society  to  the 
protection  and  emoluments  of  the  State."  With 
respect  to  the  statement  alluded  to,  it  has  been  stip- 
posed  that,  during  the  seventy  years  while  Wil- 
liam Penn's  principles  prevailed,  or  the  Quakers 
had  the  principal  share  in  the  Government,  there 
was  no  spot  on  the  globe  where,  number  for  num- 
ber, there  was  so  much  Virtue  or  so  much  true 
Happiness  as  among  the  inhabitants  of  Pennsylva- 
nia ;  and  that  during  this  period  the  latter  country 
exhibited  (setting  aside  the  early  difficulties  of  a 
new  Colony)  a  kind  of  little  paradise  upon  earth. 


372  MEMOIRS    OF    THE    LIFE 

Hence  the  period  from  1682  to  1754,  with  the 
same  exception,  has  been  denominated  the  Golden 
Age  of  Pennsylvania.  Nor  has  this  name  been 
improperly  bestowed  upon  it.  if  we  examine  into 
facts  :  for  in  a  Constitution  where  merit  only  was 
publicly  rewarded,  there  must  have  been  a  constant 
growth  of  Virtue,  and  of  course  of  Happiness  with 
it.  In  a  constitution  also  where  every  man  had 
free  scope  for  his  exertions,  and  the  power  of  en- 
joying the  fruits  of  his  own  labour,  there  must 
have  been  the  constant  opportunity  of  improving 
his  temporal  condition.  At  the  latter  end  of  the 
period  before  mentioned  the  Pennsylvanians  ex- 
ported produce  to  the  value  of  half  a  million  ster- 
ling, and  they  imported  conveniences  and  comforts 
to  the  same  amount.  Five  hundred  vessels,  in- 
cluding ships,  sloops,  and  schooners,  left  the  port  of 
Philadelphia  within  the  year.  The  land  therefore 
became  to  them  a  land  of  plenty,  flowing  as  it  were 
with  milk  and  honey.  And  from  this  delightful 
condition  there  were  not  the  usual  drawbacks  as 
in  other  States  ;  for  during  all  this  period,  as  I 
observed  before,  there  was  no  war.  They  lived  in 
a  state  of  security-  Their  taxes  were  compara- 
tivelv  nothing.  They  had  no  internal  broils. — 
They  suffered  no  persecution  for  religion.  No 
one  sect  viewed  another  with  shyness.  They  dif- 
fered as  to  the  articles  of  their  faith,  but  they  were 
still  friends.  Proud,  in  speaking  upon  this  subject, 
sav»  that  William  P<  nn  was  far  from  being  actu- 
ated by  the  extravagant  notions  which  some  others 


OF    WILLIAM    PENN.  ^to 

had  entertained  upon  Government,  "in  giving 
such  an  excellent  example  to  mankind,  and  shozu- 
ing  them  how  happy  it  is  possible  for  men  to  live  in 
the  zuorld  if  they  please  ;  for,  while  he  distinguish- 
ed between  the  too  general  abuse  of  power  and 
the  exertion  of  a  just  authority,  he  laid  a  founda- 
tion Jor  happy  consequences^  as  manifested  in  the 
late  glorious  example  and  prosperity  of  the  Province^ 
to  such  a  degree  of  both  public  and  private  felici- 
ty^ as  hath  exceeded  that  of  most  other  countries^ 
considering  its  age,  situation,  extent,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances, that  we  know  of  in  the  worW* — Such 
was  the  happy  result  of  the  Government  of  Wil- 
liam Penn.  How  awful  does  the  contemplation  of 
it  render  the  situation  of  Statesmen !  Awful  in- 
deed, if,  having  within  themselves  the  power  of 
disseminating  so  much  happiness,  they  have  fail- 
ed or  neglected  to  dispense  it !  But  still  more 
awful,  if  by  wars,  persecution,  or  other  unjust  pro- 
ceedings, they  have  been  the  authors  of  unneces- 
sary sufferings  at  home,  or  of  misery  to  those  aliens 
v/ith  whom  circumstances  have  unhappily  led  them 
to  be  concerned  !  Let  bad  Governors  look  at  the 
contrast  with  which  a  review  of  their  own  con- 
duct can  furnish  them,  and  tremble  !  Let  the  good, 
on  the  other  hand,  be  encouraged.  Let  them 
consider  the  extraordinary  opportunity  which  their 
elevated  stations  give  them,  far  indeed  beyond 
that  of  all  others,  not  only  of  doing  good  to,  but 
of  being  handed  down  to  posterity  among  the  great- 
est benefactors  of  the  human  race :  and  above  all 
VOL.  II.  K  k 


374  MEMOIRS    or  THE    LIEE,  &C. 

let  them  consider  that,  by  discharging  their  great 
and  extensive  Stewardships  faithfully,  they  may 
exchange  their  earthly  for  incorruptible  crowns  of 
glory  at  the  Resurrection  of  the  Just. 


FINIS. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

VOL.  I. 

Ghap.  1.  William  Penn — his  origin  or  lineal  de- 
scent—as collected  from  public  accounts     p.  1. 

Chap.  2.  Is  born  in  1644 — goes  to  Chigweil  school- 
religious  impressions  there — goes  to  Oxford — 
his  verses  on  the  death  of  the  Duke  of  Glou- 
cester— is  further  impressed  by  the  preach- 
ing of  Thomas  Loe — fined  for  non-conformity,, 
and  at  length  expelled — turned  out  of  doors  by 
his  father — is  sent  to  France — rencontre  at 
Paris — studies  at  Saumur — visits  Turin — is 
sent  for  home — becomes  a  student  at  Lincoln's 
Inn p.  5. 

Chap.  3.  A.  1666-1667 — is  sent  to  Ireland — attends 
the  Court  of  the  Duke  of  Ormond — meets 
again  with  Thomas  Loe — impression  again 
made  by  the  sermon  of  the  latter — is  put  into 
gaol  for  being  at  a  Quakers'  meeting — writes 
to  Lord  Orrery — is  discharged  from  prison — is 
reported  to  be  a  Quaker — ordered  home  on 
that  account  by  his  father  — interesting  inter- 
view between  them — conditions  offered  him  by 
his  father — is  again  turned  out  of  doors     p.  14,. 


376  CONTENTS. 

Chap.  4.  A.  1668 — becomes  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
—publishes  "  Truth  exalted"— also  "  The 
Guide  mistaken" — holds  a  public  controversy 
Avith  Vincent  in  the  Presbyterian  Meeting- 
house— publishes  "  The  Sandy  Foundation 
shaken" — general  contents  of  the  same — is  sent 
in  consequence  to  the  Tower — sends  an  answer 
from  thence  to  the  Bishop  of  London — writes 
there  "  No  Cross  No  Crown" — particular 
contents  and  character  of  this  work — substance 
of  his  letter  to  the  Lord  Arlington — writes 
"  Innocency  with  her  open  Face" — is  discharg- 
ed from  the  Tower  -  -  -  p.  25. 
Chap.  5.  A.  1669 — visits  Thomas  Loe  on  his  death- 
bed— exhortation  of  the  latter — is  sent  again  to 
Ireland — writes  ^*  A  Letter  to  the  young  Con- 
vinced"— procures  the  discharge  of  several 
from  prison — returns  to  England — is  reconciled 

to  his  father p.  47. 

Ghap.  6.  A.  L670 — preaches  in  Gracechtirch-street 
—is  taken  up  and  committed  to  Newgate— ^is 
tried  at  the  Old  Bailey  and  acquitted — account 
of  this  memorable  trial — attends  his  father  on 
his  death-bed — dying  sayings  of  the  latter — 
publishes  "  The  People's  ancient  and  just 
Liberties  asserted" — disputes  publicly  with 
Jeremy  Ives  at  High  Wycomb — writes  to  the 
Vice-Chancellor  of  Oxford — publishes  "  A 
seasonable  Caveat  against  Popery" — is  again 
taken  up  for  preaching,  and  sent  to  the  Tower, 
and  from  thence  to  Newgate  -  -  p.  51. 
Chap.  7.  A.  1671 — writes,  while  in  Newgate,  to 
The  High  Court  of  Parliament— to  the  Sheriffs 


CONTENTS.  377 

of  London — to  a  Roman  Catholic— pmblishes 
"  A  cautionary  Postscript  to  Truth  exalted"— 
"  Truth  rescued  from  Imposture" — "  A  serious 
Apology  for  the  Principles  and  Practice  of  the 
Quakers" — "  The  great  Case  of  Liberty  of 
Conscience  debated  and  defended" — general 
contents  of  the  latter — comes  out  of  prison — 
travels  into  Holland  and  Germany  p.  80. 

Chap.  8.  A.  1672 — returns  to  England— marries — 
settles  at  Rickmansworth— travels  as  a  preacher 
— writes  "  The  Spirit  of  Truth  vindicated"— 
'^  The  netv  Witnesses  proved  old  Heretics" — 
*'  Plain  Dealing  with  a  traducing  Anabaptist" 
— "  A  Winding-sheet  for  the  Controversy 
ended" — "  Quakerism  a  new  Nick-name  for  old 
Christianity" — letter  to  Dr.  Hasbert  p.  88. 

Chap.  9.  A.  1673 — travels  as  a  minister — writes 
"  The  Christian  Quaker" — also  "  Reason 
against  Railing,  and  Truth  against  Fiction" — 
also  "  The  counterfeit  Christian  detected" — 
holds  a  public  controversy  with  the  Baptists  at 
Barbican — his  account  of  it  to  G.  Fox — writes 
**  The  Invalidity  of  John  Faldo's  Vindication"-- 
also  "  A  Return  to  J.  Faldo's  Reply"— also 
•'  A  just  Rebuke  to  one-and-twenty  learned  and 
reverend  Divines" — encomium  of  Dr.  Moore 
on  the  latter — writes  "  Wisdom  justified  of  her 
Children,"  and  "  Urim  and  Thummim" — and 
against  John  Perrot — and  "  On  the  general 
Rule  of  Faith,"  and  on  "The  proposed  Com- 
prehension"— also  six  letters — extract  from 
that  to  Justicie  Fleming      ...     p.  93. 

Kke 


S7S  CONTENTS. 

Chap.  10.  A.  1674— tries  to  stem  the  torrent  ot 
religious  persecution  by  a  letter  to  Justice 
Bowls — and  to  two  other  Justices — and  to  the 
King — writes  for  the  same  purpose  "  A  Trea- 
tise of  Oaths" — also  "  England's  present  In- 
terests considered" — contents  of  this  work — 
also  "  The  continued  Cry  of  the  Oppressed  for 
Justice" — short  extracts  from  the  letter — also 
a  letter  to  the  Senate  of  Emhden — publishes 
'*  Naked  Truth  needs  no  Shift" — "  Ives's  sober 
Request  proved  false" — and  *'  Libels  no 
Proofs" — letter  to  G.  Fox  on  the  subject  of 
his  release p.  108. 

Chap.  il.  A.  1675 — continues  at  Rickmansworth — 
converts  many — holds  a  public  dispute  there 
with  Richard  Baxter — corresponds  with  the 
latter — publishes  "  Saul  smitten  to  the  Ground" 
—writes  to  a  Roman  Catholic — arbitrates  be- 
tween Fenwick  and  Byllinge — two  letters  to 
the  former p.  124. 

Chap.  12.  A.  1676 — writes  "The  Skirmisher  de- 
feated"— also  to  two  Protestant  ladies  of  quality 
in  Germany — becomes  a  manager  of  proprie- 
tary concerns  in  New  Jersey — divides  it  into 
East  and  West — draws  up  a  Constitution,  and 
invites  settlers  to  the  latter  -  p.  131. 

Chap.  13.  A.  1677 — continues  his  management  of 
West  New  Jersey — appoints  Commissioners  to 
go  there — sells  a  portion  of  thie  land — sends  off 
three  vessels — undertakes  a  religious  visit  to 
Holland  and  Germany — writes  to  the  King  of 
Poland  from  Amsterdam— his  kind  receptioo 
and  employment  at  the  ^ourt  of  Herwerden— 


co^^^^E5^ps•  379 

occurrences  at  Krisheim—  Daysburg-i-Mul- 
heim —  Harlingen — Woij<lerwick-»— aiid  other 
plitces — writes  at  Frankfort  ''  A  Letter  to  the 
Churches  of  Jesus  throughout  the  World"— 
and  at  Rotterdam  "  A  Call  or  Summons  to 
Christendom,"  and  other  tracts— -disputes  with 
Galenus  Abrams — returns  to  EtiL:iand— holds  a 
dispute  with  William  Rogers  at  Bristol    p.  136. 

Chap.  14.  A.  1678 — ■continues  his  management  of 
West  New  Jersey — sends  two  other  vessels 
there — ^petitions  Parliament  in  behalf  of  the 
persecuted  Quakers — is  heard  by  a  Committee 
of  the  Commons-— the  two  speeches  before 
them — remarks  upon  these— -.writes  "  A  brief 
Answer  to  a  false  and  foolish  Libel" — also 
"  An  Epistle  to  the  Children  of  Light  in  this 
Generation"  -         -         -         -         p.  165. 

Chap,  15.  A.  1679 — continues  his  management  of 
West  New  Jersey — writes  "  An  Address  to 
Protestants  of  all  Persuasions" — general  con- 
tents of  this  work — writes  a  preface  to  the 
works  of  Samuel  Fisher — also  "  England's 
great  Interest  in  the  Choice  of  a  new  Parlia- 
ment"— assists  Algernon  Sidney  in  his  election 
for  Guildford — two  of  his  letters  to  the  latter— 
writes  "One  Project  for  the  Good  of  England" 
—general  contents  of  this  work       -         p.  180. 

Chap.  16.  A.  1680 — continues  his  management  of 
West  New  Jersey— writes  a  prelace  to  an 
•anonymous  publication — also  to  the  works  of  J. 
Penington— petitions  Charles  the  Second  for 
tetters  patent  for  a  certain  tract  of  land  in 
America  in  Ueu  of -the  debt  du^  by  the  Govern- 


380  CONTENTS. 

ment  to  his  father — his.  motives  for  'soliciting 
the  same         -         -         -         -         -        p.  201. 

Chap.  17.  A.  1681— becomes  a  proprietor  of  East 
New  Jersfty-^pnhlishes  "  A  brief  Examination 
and  State  of  Liberty  spiritual'' — writes  "  A 
Letter  to  the  Friends  of  God  in  the  City  of 
Bristol" — obtains  a  grant  of  the  tract  solicited 
—substance  of  the  Charter  for  the  same — 
named  Pennsylvania  by  the  King — his  modest 
feelings  at  this  name— publishes,  an  account  of 
Pennsylvania  and  the  terms  of  sale — draws  up 
conditions — his  great  care  of  the  natives  therein 
— draws  up  a  Frame  of  Government — his 
great  care  of  liberty  of  conscience  therein — 
extract  of  his  letter  to  R.  Turner — sends  off 
three  vessels  with  passengers — and  with  Com- 
missioners— writes  to  the  Indians  by  the  latter 
— is  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society — 
letter  to  R.  Vickris         -         -         -         p.  209. 

Chap.  18.  A.  1682 — has  a  narrow  escape  from  prison 
—assists  R.  Davies — his  sickness  on  the  death  of 
his  miother-T-letter  written  by  him  at  that  time- 
publishes  his  Frame  of  Government — admirable 
preface  thereto — substance  of  the  said  Frame 
and  of  the  Laws— bars  all  future  claim  upon 
Pennsylvania  by  the  Duke  of  York — obtains  a 
fresh  grant  called  the  Territories — -leaves  a  let- 
ter to  his  wife  and  children — embarks  in  the 
Downs — writes  a  farewell  epistle  from  thence 
and  a  letter  to  S.  Crisp— sails,  and  arrives  at 
Newcastle — calls  the  first  General  Assembly  at 
Upland,  then  new  named  Chester-— business 
done  there-— visits  N^\v  York  and  Maryland?— 


CONTENTS.  381 

returns,  and  makes  his  Great  Treaty  with  the 
Indians — goes  to  Pennsbury — fixes  on  a  site  for 
his  new  city — plan  of  it — calls  it  Philadelphia — 
divides  the  land  into  counties — lays  out  town- 
ships—two of  his  letters  while  so  employed— 
reserves  a  thousand  acres  for  G.  Fox — receives 
new  reinforcements  of  settlers — gives  them  a 
plan  for  huts — amount  of  the  latter — their  way 
of  living  after  their  arrival — appoints  Sheriffs 
to  the  different  counties — issues  writs  to  these 
for  calling  the  Assemblies  in  the  spring   p.  231. 

QHAP.  19.  A.  1683 — members  returned  for  the  Pro- 
vince and  Territories — list  of  those  sent  to  the 
Assembly — meets  his  Council — and  afterwards 
the  Assembly — which  sit  twenty-two  days — 
business  done  there — grants  a  new  Charter — 
first  judicial  proceedings — trial  of  Pickering., 
and  others — names  of  those  of  the  first  jury— . 
great  progress  in  the  building  of  Philadelphia 
— and  in  agriculture  by  the  settlers —  their  man- 
ner of  living  as  described  by  R.  Townsend— 
goes  on  a  journey  of  discovery  into  the  interior 
of  Pennsylvania — sends  the  Natural  History  of 
it  to  "  The  Free  Society  of  Traders  " — copy  of 
his  Letter  on  that  subject — fails  in  settling  a 
dispute  with  the  Lord  Baltimore — sends  his  case 
to  the  Lords  Committee  of  Plantations  in  Eng- 
land          p.  280. 

^HAP.  20.  A.  1684 — violent  conduct  of  the  Lord  Bal- 
timore— opposes  it  by  lenient  measures — re- 
ceives accounts  of  fresh  persecutions  for  religion 
in  England-^determines  to  repair  thither  to  use 
his  influence  with  the  Court  to  stop  them — in 


3d2  CONTENTS.  • 

the  mean  time  settles  a  system  of  discipline  for 
his  own  religious  Society — holds  conferences 
and  makes  treaties  with  the  Indians — settles  the 
dispute  about  the  bank-lots — and  forwards  the 
building  of  his  city — number  of  houses  and  po- 
pulation— total  population  of  the  settlers — pro- 
vides for  the  Government  in  his  absence — letter 
from  S.  Crisp— .embarks — writes  a  farewell  epis- 
tle to  his  friends— arrives  in  England — writes  to 
Margaret  Fox — and  to  S.  Crisp — contents  of  the 
above  letters  -  -         -         -         p.  316. 

CHAP.  21.  A.  1685 — gives  an  account  of  the  death  of 
Charles  the  Second — is  in  great  favour  with 
James  the  Second — has  frequent  interviews  with 
the  King— endeavours  to  stop  persecution — in- 
tercedes for  John  Locke — becomes  unpopular 
by  his  attendance  at  Court — called  Papist  and 
Jesuit — correspondence  between  him  and  Tiliot- 
son  on  this  subject— present  at  two  public  exe- 
cutions—affairs of  Pennsylvania — irregularities 
and  abuses  in  his  absence — writes  over  to  correct 
them — Assembly  impeach  Moore  and  arrest  Ro- 
binson— ^their  letter  to  him  on  the  subject  p.  333. 

CHAP.  22.  A.  1686 — cry  of  Papist  and  Jesuit  continued 
— further  correspondence  betweenjiim  and  Til- 
lotson  on  the  subject — writes  "  A  further  Ac- 
count of  Pennsylvania  " — also  "  A  Defence  of 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham  " — also  "  A  Persua- 
sive to  Moderation" — contents  of  the  latter — 
proclamation  for  religious  indulgence  follows — 
goes  to  Holland  on  a  religious  errand — but  un- 
dertakes a  commission  from  the  King  to  the 
Prince  of  Orange — meets  Scotch  fugitives  there 


CONTENTS.  383 

— his  services  to  Sir  Robert  Steuart— travels  as 
a  preacher  in  England — affairs  of  Pennsylvania 
— displeased  with  the  conduct  of  the  Assembly 
— and  also  with  that  of  the  Council — alters  the 
Government  by  a  Commission — lodges  the  Ex- 
ecutive in  five  persons— reinstates  Moore — copy 
of  the  Commission  -  -  -  p.  354. 
CHAP.  23.  A.  1687 — carries  up  Address  of  the  Qua- 
kers to  James  the  Second  on  his  Declaration  for 
Liberty  of  Conscience — his  speech  to  the  King 
—the  King's  answer — travels  into  different 
counties — preaches  at  Bristol  fair — and  at  Chew 
under  an  oak and  at  Chester,  where  the  King 

hears  him — goes  to  Oxford — meets  the  King 
there,  who  interferes  unjustly  in  the  election  of 
a  President  for  Magdalen  College — his  noble 
reproof  of  the  latter — his  interview  with  a 
Deputation  from  the  College — writes  "  Good 
Advice  to  the  Church  of  England  and  Catholic 
and  Protestant  Dissenters  " — also  "  The  Great 
and  Popular  Objection  against  the  Repeal  of  the 
Penal  Laws  stated  and  considered  "-—affairs  of 
Pennsylvania  -  -         *         -         p.  379. 


VOL.  11. 

Chap.  1.  A.  1688— introduces  Gilbert  Latey  to  the 
King — becomes  very  unpopular — reputed  cau- 
ses of  it — beautiful  letter  written  to  him  by  Mr. 
Popple  on  this  account— his  answer  to  the  same 
— is  arrested  (King  William  having  come  to 


584  CONTENTS. 

the  throne)  and  brought  before  the  Lords  of  the 
Council — ^and  examined — and  made  to  give  bail 
for  his  appearance — affairs  of  Pennsylvania  p.  1. 

CHAP.  2.  A.  1689 — appears  according  to  his  bail — no 
witness  being  found  against  him,  is  discharged — 
Toleration  Act  passes — the  great  privileges  it 
conferred — his  joy  on  the  occasion — the  great 
share  he  had  in  bringing  it  to  pass — affairs  of 
Pennsylvania         -         -         -         -  p.  33. 

CHAP.  3.  A.  1690 — letter  of  thanks  to  a  Friend — is 
arrested  again  on  a  charge  of  corresponding 
with  James  the  Second— his  open  and  manly  de- 
fence heforp.  King  WilliaTn— ^is  made  to  find  bail 
— appears  in  Court,  and  is  discharged — prepares 
for  returning  to  Pennsylvania — is  again  arrested 
— tried — and  acquitted — writes  to  the  widow  of 
George  Fox  on  the  death  of  her  husband — is 
on  the  point  of  sailing  for  Pennsylvania  but  ac- 
cused by  Fuller — constables  sent  to  take  him — 
the  voyage  stopped — goes  into  retirement — af- 
fairs of  Pennsylvania  -         -         -     p.  42. 

^HAP.  4.  A.  1691 — continues  in  retirement — new  pro- 
clamation for  his  apprehension — becomes  more 
unpopular  than  ever — falls  under  the  censure  of 
some  of  his  own  Society — writes  in  consequence 
a  general  letter  to  the  members  of  it — is  visited 
in  his  retirement — message  sent  to  him  there 
by  John  Locke — writes  a  Preface  to  Barclay's 
Apology — affairs  of  Pennsylvania         -       p.  55 

CHAP.  5.  A.  1692 — continues  in  retirement — writes 
"  Just  Measures  " — general  contents  of  this 
work — also  "  A  Key  "  whereby  to  know  and  dis- 
tinguish the  Religion  of  the  Quakers-— general 


CONTEXTS.  oH5 

contents  of  it — also  "  New   Athenians  ro  noble 
Bereans" — affairs  of  Pennsylvania         -     p.  64. 

CHAP.  6.  A.  1693 — continues  in  retirement — is  depriv- 
ed of  his  Government  by  King  William — his 
forlorn  situation  at  this  period — resolves  upon 
returning  to  Pennsylvania — letter  to  that  effect 
— but  is  prevented  by  embarrassed  circum.stan- 
ces — writes  "  Fruits  of  Solitude  " — preface  and 
contents  of  the  same — also  "  Essay  towards  the 
present  and  future  State  of  Europe  " — analysis 
of  the  latter — letter  to  N.  Blandford — is  heard 
before  King  William  and  his  Council,  and  ac- 
quitted— death  of  his  wife — her  character — af- 
fairs of  Pennsylvania         -         -         -         p.  72. 

GHAP.  7.  A.  1694 — writes  "  An  Account  of  the  Rise 
and  Progress  of  the  Quakers  " — general  con- 
tents of  this  work — also  "  A  Visitation  to  the 
Jews  " — extract  from  thence — publishes  his 
"  Journey  into  Holland  and  Germany  as  perform- 
ed in  1677  *' — is  restored  to  his  Government  by 
King  William — -handsome  manner  of  wording 
the  Royal  order  for  this  purpose — travels  in  the 
ministry — letter  to  John  Gratton — affairs  of 
Pennsylvania — death  and  character  of  Thomas 
Lloyd p.  100. 

CHAP.  8.  A.  1695 — writes  "  A  Reply  to  a  pretended 
Answer  to  William  Penn's  Key  " — delivers  a 
paper  to  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  subject 
of  making  the  Quakers'  affirmation  equal  to  their 
oath — travels  in  the  ministry — is  present  at  a  re- 
ligious dispute  at  Melksham — preaches  at  Wt  lis 
—some  curious  particulars  during  his  stay  there 
— affairs  of  Pennsylvania         -         -         p.  1 J  4. 

VOL.   II.  L  1 


386  CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  9.  A.  1696 — marries  a  second  time — loses  his 
eldest  son — writes  an  account  of  his  sayings  and 
behaviour  during  his  sickness,  and  of  his  charac- 
ter— writes  also  "  Primitive  Christianity  reviv- 
ed " — analysis  of  the  work — also  "  More  Work 
for  G.  Keith  " — visits  the  Czar  of  Muscovy  then 
in  England — impression  made  upon  the  latter- 
affairs  of  Pennsylvania  "  "  ?•  ^^2. 

CHAP.  10.  A.  1697 — publishes  "  A  Caution  humbly 
offered  about  passing  the  Bill  against  Blasphe- 
my " — Bill  is  dropped — affairs  of  Pennsylvania 

p.  UO. 

CHAP.  11.  A.  1698 — goes  to  Ireland  as  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel — writes  "  The  Quaker  a  Christian  '^ 
— and  "  Gospel  Truths  as  held  by  the  Quakers  " 
—preaches  at  Dublin,  Lambstown,  Wexford^ 
Waterford,  Clonmel,  Cork,  and  many  other  pla- 
ces— has  his  horses  seized  at  Ross— incident 
and  interview  with  the  Bishop  at  Cashel — re- 
turns to  Bristol — writes  "  Gospel  Truths  defend- 
ed against  the  Bishop  of  Cork's  Exceptions  "— - 
goes  to  London  to  take  leave  of  adventurers  to 
Pennsylvania  in  the  ship  Providence — returns 
to  Bristol — writes  "  Truth  of  God  as  professed 
by  the  people  called  Quakers  "         -        p.  145. 

CHAP.  12.  A.  1699 — religious  dispute  at  West  Dere- 
ham between  the  Quakers  and  tlie  Norfolk  Cler- 
gy— writes  a  paper  against  "  A  brief  Disco- 
very,** the  production  of  the  latter — also  ''  A 
just  Ccnsu'e  of  Francis  Bugg's  Address  ** — 
prepi^res  tor  a  voyage  to  America — dr^^ws  up 
«  Advice  to  his  Children  for  their  civil  and  reli- 
gious Conduct  ** — also,  on  embarking,  "  A  Let- 


CONTENTS.  38/ 

ter  to  the  People  of  God  called  Quakers,  wherc- 
ever  scattered  or  gathered  '* — arrives  in  the 
Delaware — incidents  there — yellow  fever — pro- 
ceeds to  Philadelphia — visits  in  the  country — 
anecdote  related  of  him  while  at  Merion — meets 
the  Assembly — passes  Bills  against  piracy  and 
illicit  trade — extreme   severity  of  the  weather 

p.  158. 

CHAP.  13.  A.  1700 — proposes  and  carries  in  his  own 
Monthly  Meeting  resolutions  relative  to  Indians 
and  Negro  slaves — removes  obstructions  and 
nuisances  in  the  city— calls  the  Assembly — pro- 
ceedings of  the  same — visits  and  receives  Indi- 
ans— travels  in  the  ministry  through  the  Pro- 
vince^ and  Territories,  and  in  the  Jerseys  and 
Maryland — anecdotes  of  him  while  on  this  ex- 
cursion— calls  a  new  Assembly  at  Newcastle — 
substance  of  his  speech  to  them — proceedings 
of  the  same — their  dissentions — those  allayed 
by  his  wisdom  and  justice — particulars  relative 
to  their  rules,  Sec.  -  -  -  p.  168. 

«ii:A.p.  14.  A.  1701 — sets  out  for  East  Jersey  to  quell 
a  riot  there — extracts  from  a  letter  written. oti 
that  occasion — makes  a  treaty  with  tlie  Susque- 
hannah  and  other  Indians — suggests  a  plan  of 
trade  with  them,  to  secure  tliem  from  imposi- 
tion and  to  improve  their  morals — calls  the  As- 
sembly— their  proceedings — issues  an  order  to 
watch  against  invasion-— renews  a  treaty  with 
another  tribe  of  Indians — account  of  it — being 
called  to  England,  summons  the  Assembly  again 
— its  ^jroceedings — several  tribes  of  Indians 
come  to  take  their  leave  of  him — his  reply  to 


388  CONTENTS. 

the  same — signs  a  new  Charter — constitutes  and 
incorporates  Philadelphia  a  city — appoints  a 
Council  of  State — and  a  Deputy  Governor — 
embarks  for  England — arrives  there         p    185. 

CHAP.  15.  A.  1702-3- — carries  up  the  adddress  of  the 
Quakers  to  Queen  Anne — writes  "  Considera- 
tions upon  the  Bill  against  occasional  Conformi- 
ty " — also,  "  More  Fruiis  of  Solitude  '* — also  a 
preface  to  "  Vindici^e  Veritatis  " — and  another 
to  "  Zion's  Travellers  comforted  " — affairs  of 
Pennsylvania         -  -         -         -  p.  216. 

CHAP.  16.  A.  1704-5-6-7-8 — writes  a  preface  to 
"  The  written  Gospel-Labours  of  John  White- 
head "^ — travels  as  a  minister  into  the  West  of 
JEngland — writes  a  General  Letter  to  the  Socie- 
ty— is  involved  in  a  law-suit  with  the  executors 
of  his  Steward — obtains  no  redress  in  Chancery 
— obliged  in  consequence  to  live  within  the 
Rules    of    the    Fleet — affairs     of  Pennsylvania 

p.  221. 

CHAP.  17.  A.  1709-10-11-12 — is  obliged  to  mortgage 
his  Province — causes  of  this  necessity — travels 
again  in  the  ministry — writes  a  preface  to  the 
^'  Discourses  of  Bulstrode  Whitelocke" — con- 
stitution begins  to  break — removes  to  Rushcomb 
in  Berkshire — determines  upon  parting  with  his 
province — but  is  prevented  by  illness— writes  a 
preface  to  the  "  Works  of  John  Banks*' — has 
three   apoplectic    fits — affairs   of    Pennsylvania 

p.   230. 

(niAP.  18.  A.  1713-14-15-16-17-18— .gradually  de- 
clines — account  of  him  at  this  pH^iod-^dies  at 
Rushcomb — concourse  of  people  at  his  funeral 


CONTENTS.  389 

—malevolent  reports  concerniivg  him  after  his 
death — certificates  of  Simon  Clement  and  Han- 
nah Mitchell — short  account  of  his  will    p.  256 

CHAP.  19.  Some  account  of  his  person — of  his  man- 
ners and  habits — and  of  his  private  character 

p.  266. 

GHAP.  20.  Examination  of  the  outcry  against  him  of 
"  Papist  and  Jesuit " — of  the  charges  against 
him  by  Burnet — -and  of  those  contained  in  the 
State  Papers  of  Nairne — and  in  the  insinuations 
of  Lord  Lyttleton — and  Dr.  Franklin       p.  278. 

CHAP.  21.  View  of  him  as  a  Legislator  upon  Christian 
principles  in  opposition  to  those  of  the  policy  of 
the  wond — and  first  as  it  relates  to  the  govern- 
ed— his  general  maxims  of  Government — su- 
periority of  these  over  others  as  to  the  extension 
of  morals — mechanism  of  the  Government  of 
Pennsylvania — reputed  excellence  of  it — one 
defect  said  to  belong  to  it — but  this  no  defect 
at  the  time — removed  by  him  when  it  became  so 
— hence  the  first  trait  in  his  character  as  a  Chris- 
tian legislator,  namely,  his  readiness  to  alter  the 
Constitution  with  time  and  circumstances — se- 
cond trait  to  be  seen  in  his  law  for  universal 
Toleration — reasons  upon  which  it  was  founded 
— contrast  between  it  and  the  opposite  one  un- 
der political  legislators — both  as  to  principle  and 
effect — this  law  the  great  cause  of  the  rapid  po- 
pulation of  Pennsylvania — third  trait  to  be  seen 
in  the  abolition  of  the  punishment  of  death,  and 
in  making  the  reformation  of  the  offender  an  ob- 
ject of  legislative  concern — comparison  between 
*his  system  and  that  of  the  sanguinary  legislator 


390  eONTENTS. 

of  the  world — ^noble  effects  of  the  former  as 
"witnessed  in  its  improved  state  at  the  present 
day p.  307. 

GHAP.  22.  View  of  him  as  a  Statesman  upon  Chris- 
tian principles,  as  it  relates  to  aliens  or  foreign- 
ers— first,  as  to  Dutch  and  Swedes — secondly, 
as  to  the  aborigines  or  Indians — his  Christian 
object  in  connecting  himself  with  these — his 
Christian  conduct  towards  them — honourable 
and  grateful  result  to  him  and  his  followers 
from  the  same — object  and  conduct  of  those 
towards  the  same  who  have  proceeded  upon  the 
policy  of  the  world — miserable  result  to  the  lat- 
ter— peculiar  reason  of  this  result — thirdly,  as 
to  the  Negroes — his  Christian  treatment  of 
these — happy  effects  of  the  same — misery  pro- 
duced by  those  who  have  had  any  concern  with 
them  on  the  principle  of  the  policy  of  the 
world p.  333. 

•HAP.  23.  Recapitulation  of  the  traits  in  the  preced- 
ing chapters  of  his  legislative  character  as  a 
Christian — has  exhibited  himself  besides  as  the 
Ruler  of  a  kingdom  without  a  soldier — and  also 
without  an  oath — Great  Treaty  with  the  Indians 
never  ratified  by  an  oath  and  yet  never  brokea 
— Indians  made  incursions  into  Pennsylvania  in 
1754,  but  never  while  the  Quakers  ruled — cau- 
ses of  these  incursions — peace  restored  by  the 
Quakers — Father  O'Leary's  eulogium  on  t-.e 
Government  of  William  Penn — happy  condi- 
tion of  Pennsylvania  under  it — conclusion  p.  365. 


•t^K. 


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